Report Ranks Nigeria with Lowest Respect for Rule of Law

 Symbol of justice

By Tobi Soniyi 

Nigeria has been ranked as one of the countries with the lowest respect for the rule of law in the world.

The World Justice Project (WJP) in its 2014 Rule of Law Index released last Thursday, ranked 99 countries out of which Nigeria placed 93 close to war ravaged Afghanistan and insurgent-prone Pakistan, which ranked 98 and 96 respectively.
Botswana and Ghana were  among African counties ranked better in the index, standing at 25 and 37 respectively.

Apart from the overall ranking where Nigeria placed 93, the country did not fare well under the eight individual factors which were used as parameters for the overall ranking.

These factors, are: constraints on government powers, absence of corruption, open government, fundamental rights, order and security, regulatory enforcement, civil justice and criminal justice.

Under absence of corruption, Nigeria ranked 97 among the 99 countries considered in the report while in fundamental rights, Nigeria placed 88th. In order and security, Nigeria was ranked 98 beaten only Pakistan,  ranked 99th, while it came 91st under the criminal justice factor.

WJP is an independent, multi-disciplinary organisation working to advance the rule of law around the world.

The index measures a nation’s adherence to the rule of law from the perspective of how ordinary people experience it.

The report said: “Nigeria ranks 93rd over all and near the bottom half of lower middle income countries in most dimensions. The country ranks 69th for checks on the executive branch and 76th for open government.

“In most of the other dimensions, the country remains one of the poorest performers of the region.

“Corruption is widespread (ranking third to last in the world), the criminal justice system has deficiencies (ranking 91st over and second to last in the region), fundamental rights are poorly protected and a deteriorating security situation continues to raise significant concern.”