Judge Made Law in The Supreme Court Decision in AGF V AG Abia State On Direct Payment of Federal Allocation to Local Government Councils

The Supreme Court of Nigeria in the recent case of Attorney General of the Federation v Attorney General of 
Abia State interpreted section 162(5)-(8) of Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, according 
to the respected court, purposefully and progressively, and granted the relief for direct payment by the Federal 
government of federal allocation to local government councils, in disregard of the literal interpretation of the 
Constitution’s provisions requiring same to be paid through the states. In doing so, the court lamented that 
over the years, states have run the councils as their parastatals, and that in defiance of court decisions. This 
paper examined the relevant constitutional provisions interpreted by the court; decided cases that appertain 
to the question and the opinion of legal philosophers related to the subject and concluded that while the 
interpretation handed down by the Supreme Court is populist and responsive to public opinion, it detracts from 
the doctrine of separation of powers. The respected court remade the Constitution. Judge made law could be 
good but it is fraught with its own problems. The problem the Supreme Court sought to assist to solve is 
however hinged upon more fundamental dysfunctions that require solution through constitutional amendment, 
legislative intervention and enhancement of the rule of law. This paper suggests the constitutional and legal 
measures that ought to be adopted to enhance the rule of law, as the meaningful ways to solve the problem