Nigeria, June 6 -- The use of legal tools to entrench political power and sideline opponents is increasing in Africa.

This 'lawfare' often presents as presidential term-limit manipulations, reshuffles of the judiciary and exploitation of legal procedures to sustain power.

The tactic has emerged across the continent in countries such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Togo. It undermines public trust in democratic institutions and creates an uneven political playing field.

As the African Union (AU) tries to advance good governance, tackling lawfare must become indispensable in curtailing democratic backsliding.

Lawfare manifests differently in different countries. A recent trend is to manipula...