Role of Nigeria’s Judicial System in Building Sustainable Socio-Economy

Abstract

The role of the judiciary is very critical in any thriving democratic system. It is the role of the judiciary to maintain law and order as well as maintaining balance between the other two arms of government, namely the executive and the legislative. In Nigeria, the role of the judicial system seems to be hanging in the air. The system is said to be independent in theory but vulnerable in practice, which means it can be easily infiltrated by the other arms. This paper delves deeper in understanding the role of the judicial system in Nigerian democracy, and how that role is contributing to the socio-economic development of the nation. It adopted the Structural Functionalism as its theoretical underpinning. Structural functionalism “states that social/political systems comprise both structures and functions that are required for the existence of that system.” The idea of the theory is essential as the judicial system could cease to exist without functional structures in place. The method of data collection relied solely on secondary source. The findings show that the judicial system is very fundamental to any thriving economy. As thus, it is necessary for Nigeria to respect the place and independence of the judicial system. In recommendation, the study urges the other arms of government to honour the judiciary, as this is one of the ways that socio-economic growth could be ascertained.