At the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bwari Law Week in Abuja on the 19th of May, 2025, former Kaduna State governor Nasir El-Rufai delivered a scathing critique of Nigeria’s justice system.
El-Rufai pointed directly at judges and lawyers, accusing “a significant portion of Nigeria’s judiciary of corruption,” and warning that their actions are threatening public faith in the legal system. He said citizens now view the courts with suspicion due to “frequent delays in justice and decisions perceived to be influenced by bias or external interests.”
“In parallel, our judiciary, meant to be the bedrock of fairness and order, is under intense scrutiny. Concerns about delayed justice, procedural inefficiencies, and in some cases, judicial compromise (to put the matter delicately), erode public confidence,” he said.
He didn’t stop there, he criticized the rising trend of court manipulation in politically charged cases, especially the abuse of ex parte orders.
“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,” El-Rufai added.
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According to him, the judiciary no longer operates independently but instead bends to the will of the executive.
“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,” he said.
In his closing remarks, El-Rufai challenged legal professionals to evaluate their principles and renew their dedication to fairness.
“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.”