Judicialization of politics and the politicization of Judiciary: Implications for Nigeria’s democratic future 

Recent disputes over party defections, the interpretation of constitutional provisions relating to legislative seats, leadership contests within legislative institutions, and conflicts between political actors have repeatedly required judicial intervention.

Judicialization of politics occurs when courts become the primary arena for resolving disputes that should ordinarily be settled through democratic competition, legislative deliberation, political negotiation, internal party processes or constitutional dialogue.

Once citizens begin to suspect that judicial outcomes reflect political alignments rather than constitutional interpretation, confidence in both democracy and the rule of law inevitably begins to erode.