JUSTICIABILITY OF CHAPTER II OF THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION: A NEED FOR JUDICIAL ACTIVISM IN ITS INTERPRETATION

Abstract

The rise in the debate for the inclusion of Socio-economic rights in the statute books of various Nations, saw the

emergence of international and regional treaties embodying these rights. Nigeria in following the trend made socio-
economic rights a part of the Nation’s constitution, but unfortunately made those rights unjusticiable, by the same

constitution that codified these rights. Despite several evolutionary trends in the Nigerian Society, the Nation has
been on constant decline with successive governments reducing the standard of governance. All round, from security
to the economy, successive Nigerian governments fail to perform their core responsibility to the members of the society
that they lead. These core responsibilities as are encapsulated under Chapter II of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria were made unjusticiable leaving the masses unable to enforce those provisions and allowing the
ruling class to behave irresponsibly. The essence of this article is to again highlight the core responsibility of government
in relation to the society that they govern and to point out the role the judiciary can play in bringing accountability to
governance by making Chapter II justiciable through its interpretative law-making powers. This article highlights
the need for a change in judicial attitude, placing reliance on judicial activism and propelling social change by
interpreting Chapter II in such a manner that makes it justiciable.