Benue State University, Makurdi

An appraisal of the right to Life as Guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution

Mary Jennifer Omachi^*

Abstract

The right to life is the most fundamental of all human rights because other rights can only be exercised by a person who has life. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as Amended, has guaranteed this right in section 33 as a fundamental right but has not given much effect to the protection of this right as human life is lost on a daily basis in Nigeria with little or no effort by the government to protect it. This research adopts the doctrinal method to explain what the right means, how fundamentally it should be protected and guaranteed as well as the other rights associated with the right to give it effect. It finds that the right to life is a bundle of rights which are available, not only for the prevention of unlawful deprivation of life, but also for the sustenance of life. In addition, the rise in selfish and corrupt practises of most government officials leads to the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction affecting the right to life in the country including unemployment, illiteracy, poverty, low standards of healthcare amongst others. It recommends the justifiability of rights contained in chapter II of the Constitution, and the increase of judicial activism at the all levels of the Bench and Bar, to interpret and maintain causes of action for promoting good governance and for holding government accountable for failure to create a society conducive enough for the sustenance of life in the country.

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