By Abiola Olawale
The immediate past governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai has sparked controversy with explosive allegations against Nigeria’s judiciary.
This is as the former governor accused the judiciary of rampant corruption and bias.
Speaking at the Law Week of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Bwari branch in Abuja, El-Rufai claimed that “justice is for sale” and that the law primarily serves the interests of the executive, eroding public trust in the legal system.
He further alleged that many judges and lawyers are complicit in corrupt practices, undermining the judiciary’s integrity.
He asserted: “In parallel, our judiciary, meant to be the bedrock of fairness and order, is under intense scrutiny,” he said.
“Concerns about delayed justice, procedural inefficiencies, and in some cases, judicial compromise (to put the matter delicately), erode public confidence.
“The rise in forum shopping, the weaponisation of ex parte orders in political matters, and the growing perception that justice is for sale and available only to the rich and the powerful would cause the perceptive observer to conclude that what Nigerian courts do is the administration of law and not the administration of justice.
“In Nigeria, there is a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between law and justice. Not only is justice wanting, but the law that is administered seems to be according to the wishes of the executive.
“The demand on you, as practitioners in the temple of justice, is a sober introspection as you contemplate whether indeed Justitia is blind and whether she holds the scales of justice in fine balance.”
El-Rufai criticised the National Judicial Council (NJC) for “failing in its core mandate of disciplinary oversight”, citing inconsistent judgments, opaque judicial appointments, and minimal consequences for erring judges as key factors contributing to the judiciary’s loss of integrity.
“If we must be honest, we must admit that the perception of a high level of judicial corruption is now mainstream,” he said.
“This is not helped by the opacity of judicial appointments, inconsistent rulings on electoral matters, the inexplicable delays in critical judgments and the slap on the wrists meted to notoriously bad judges by the National Judicial Council which, I would respectfully say, has not succeeded in its mission and is now itself desperately in need of reform and restructuring.
“Once upon a time, ordinary citizens tiptoed past the homes of judges. Not any longer. Now, judges are abused and maligned with almost reckless abandon.
“They are physically and mentally assaulted, sometimes roundly disrespected by the ordinary citizenry. How indeed are the mighty fallen.”
