During the two constitutional terms of President Olusegun Obasanjo (1999-2007), Nigeria’s Supreme Court has ruled boldly on contentious issues including oil resource management, revenue allocations, implementation of Sharia (Islamic) law, control of the police, and the status of local governments. In this period, Nigeria’s Supreme Court has evolved into a prominent—and independent—referee of intergovernmental disputes in that chronically conflicted federation. What do the rulings of the court tell us about the role the judiciary might play in managing ethno-political tensions, communal violence, and conflicting regional interests? USIP Senior Fellow Rotimi Suberu will tackle these issues and address the challenges and limits of judicial federalism in managing violent conflicts.

Dr. Suberu has been a professor of political science at Nigeria’s University of Ibadan since 1986, and is one of Nigeria’s top experts on federalism. He is the author of Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Nigeria and Ethnic Minority Conflicts and Governance in Nigeria. Dr. Suberu has served as a consultant to the Nigerian government and the EU delegation to Abuja as well as to the National Democratic Institute and the National Endowment for Democracy, and he recently coordinated a research program on ethnic and federal studies funded by the Ford Foundation.

Speakers

• Rotimi Suberu
  Senior Fellow, U.S. Institute of Peace
• Ginny Bouvier, Moderator
  U.S. Institute of Peace

Archived Audio

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