Six copper (II) complexes of 2,2’-bipyridine and 1,10-phenanthroline have been synthesized and characterized using metal analysis, infrared and electronic spectra and the results indicated that the copper ion coordinated to the ligands to give octahedral complexes. The complexes and ligands have been screened for in-vitro antibacterial activity against a range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria. The antibacterial screening showed that the 1,10-phenanthroline ligand had the greatest antimicrobial activity with very high zones of inhibition against the various bacterial species ranging from 26mm to 31mm while the 2,2-bipyridine ligand had very low antimicrobial activity with very low zones of inhibition ranging between 8mm and 18mm. All the copper (II) phenanthroline complexes had reduced activity towards the various bacteria when compared with the free ligand while the copper(II) 2,2-bipyridine complexes had increased activity when compared with the free ligand. The microbial activity of the phenanthroline complexes compared well with that of streptomycin, the reference antibiotic, although they are significant enough to indicate some antibacterial properties inherent in the complexes. In general, the results indicated that the complexes have potential and promising antibacterial activity.