The Judiciary and Electoral Outcome of the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria

The Judiciary has been accused of being partisan and pandering to the whims and machinations of the government in power, thereby contributing to the inability of the electoral tribunals to adjudicate electoral disputes that reflect the whims and caprices of the people. This study examines the role of the judiciary in influencing the outcome of the 2023 general elections. It is methodologically structured in a qualitative method whereby data is drawn from secondary sources such as journal publications, textbooks, Newspaper publications and internet sources. These were cogently described, explained and analysed within the context of the subject matter under investigation. Findings revealed that the Judiciary was compromised in the outcome of the 2023 general elections, thereby undermining the sanctity of democratic ethos.. Based on the findings, the study recommends, among others, that the Electoral Act of 2022 should be amended to adequately guarantee the independence and autonomy of the Judiciary to operate independently of the executive arm of government. This is to enable them to discharge those sacred duties they were statutorily established to perform. Secondly, the powers of appointment of judges and their financial control must be removed from the president through legal amendments, as this will insulate them from political manipulations and actions of the actors who operate within and outside the organisational structure of the commission.