The Rule of Law as an Instrument of Societal Protection and Its Impact on Gender Issues in Nigeria

This study aimed at showing that the rule of law is not worthy of being so called in a polity where there is no societal protection and gender sensitivity. The review showed that the rule of law is an indispensable tool for the protection of the society and as such it could be described as the oxygen of a well governed polity, without it, governance will collapse and the polity will suffer. However, in the course of this study, the findings revealed that one of the major challenges of the operation of role of law in Nigeria is gender marginalization. In view of that, it was suggested that government (at all levels be it federal, state and local) must not relent in their efforts to embrace gender equality principles and practices through programme reforms and policies.