Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has leveled serious allegations against Nigeria’s judiciary, accusing a significant number of judges and lawyers of corruption and compromising the delivery of justice in the country.
Speaking on Monday, May 19, 2025, during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bwari Branch Law Week in Abuja, El-Rufai said the judiciary is rapidly losing public trust due to delayed rulings and verdicts perceived to be influenced by bias or external forces.
“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, erode public confidence.”
El-Rufai criticized the increasing use of ex parte orders in political disputes, accusing some legal practitioners of manipulating court processes for political gain.
“The rise in forum shopping, the weaponisation of ex parte orders in political matters, and the growing perception that justice is for sale—accessible only to the rich and powerful—suggest that what Nigerian courts do is the administration of law, not justice,” he stated.
He also expressed concern over what he described as a growing subservience of the judiciary to the executive arm of government.
“In Nigeria, there is a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between law and justice. Justice is often missing, and the law being applied appears to align more with the wishes of the Executive than with the principles of fairness,” he added.
El-Rufai called on members of the legal profession to engage in deep reflection and reaffirm their commitment to impartial justice.
“The demand on you, as practitioners in the Temple of Justice, is sober introspection—ask yourselves whether Justitia is truly blind, and whether she still holds the scales in fair balance,” he urged.
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