Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Okutepa, has unleashed a scathing attack on the nation’s judiciary, accusing some judges of turning courts into “weapons of oppression” rather than temples of justice.
In a fiery post on his X handle on Sunday, Okutepa lamented that Nigeria’s justice system is being crippled by corruption, compromise, and abuse of power by those entrusted to uphold the law.
“There is an urgent need for institutions of justice in Nigeria to wake up and give hope to the hopeless,” he said. “In those days, the oppressed ran to the courts for protection. But today, some judges have become instruments of persecution rather than justice.”
The senior lawyer accused certain judges of abandoning their constitutional oaths and serving as “willing tools” for powerful individuals determined to silence or punish innocent citizens.
“Some of these judges have become available instruments to unjustly keep Nigerians in prison custody,” Okutepa fumed. “There are no immediate remedies for victims of judicial persecution. Judges can’t be sued for judicial acts, and Nigerians are now at their mercy.”
Describing the situation as “alarming,” Okutepa said many judges now act like “judicial emperors” — openly displaying bias in court and taking sides depending on their interests.
He also cited instances where judges disregard constitutional provisions, especially regarding the Attorney-General’s powers under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution.
“When the Attorney-General applies to take over or discontinue a case, the judge must strike it out,” he explained. “But some judges, out of arrogance or bias, adjourn such matters for flimsy reasons that defy logic and justice.”
Okutepa warned that public trust in the judiciary is hanging by a thread.
“Nigerians fear the golden days of justice are gone,” he wrote. “We must act fast to restore confidence in our courts. The way some judges behave today is destroying the judiciary’s integrity.”
He called on the National Judicial Council (NJC) and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to send monitoring teams across courts to expose and discipline erring judges.
“When a judge keeps adjourning a case meant to set an accused person free, people will see bias,” he warned. “This is wrong — and it’s killing justice in Nigeria.”
Okutepa’s fiery outburst has reignited public debate over corruption, arbitrary detentions, and politically motivated trials, highlighting the growing crisis of confidence in Nigeria’s justice system.
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