THE TRENDS OF JUDICIAL RASCALITY IN NIGERIA: A DIALECTICAL DISCOURSE ON THE ADMINISTRATIVE TOWN-AND-GOWN APPROACH

Abstract

The Nigerian judiciary occupies a constitutional position of trust as the third arm of government and the final interpreter of the law. In recent years, however, a pattern of conduct described by the Court of Appeal and by segments of the legal profession as ‘judicial rascality’ has drawn sustained public attention. The phrase captures instances in which judicial officers, particularly at the trial level, act in open defiance of superior court orders, grant sweeping ex parte reliefs without regard to procedural safeguards, or otherwise conduct themselves in a manner inconsistent with the dignity of judicial office. This study undertakes an interdisciplinary and dialectical examination of the phenomenon, drawing on legal scholarship, the administrative and office and information management literature. It borrows the town-and-gown framework long applied to university-community relations and adapts it to the relationship between the administrative organs of the state, here designated the ‘town’, and the judiciary, here designated the ‘gown’ by reference to the ceremonial robe of judicial office. The study surveys recent trends, including the June 2026 Court of Appeal censure of a Federal High Court judgment on political party deregistration, the persistent abuse of ex parte orders, the disciplinary interventions of the National Judicial Council between 2024 and 2026, and earlier episodes such as the 2016 invasion of judges’ residences and the 2019 removal of a sitting Chief Justice. It argues that the resolution of judicial rascality lies not in a one-sided assertion of either judicial independence or administrative control, but in a dialectical synthesis in which structured administrative partnership strengthens rather than compromises judicial accountability. The study closes with suggestions addressed to judicial administrators, disciplinary bodies and policy makers.