There was a time just a few years ago when walking into a courtroom felt like stepping into something sacred. The law was blind, incorruptible, and a shield for the vulnerable. That time is long gone. Today, Nigeria’s judiciary is no longer a temple of justice. It’s a marketplace, and justice is the commodity being sold to the highest bidder.
What happens to a country when the institution meant to protect its people becomes an active player in their oppression? What becomes of a nation when the law is no longer an equalizer but a weapon for the rich and powerful?
The executive rules. The legislature makes laws. And the judiciary? It was supposed to interpret those laws, keep the powerful in check, and defend the rights of ordinary citizens. But today, it’s another cog in the machinery of greed and influence, compromised at every turn.
This wasn’t always the case. Many Nigerians still remember the days of the late Justice Kayode Eso and the boldness of the Supreme Court in the ’80s and ’90s. Even under military rule, some judges dared to stand for what was right. But now, under democracy where the judiciary should be strongest it has become the weakest link. A body once revered for its moral authority now bends at the altar of influence and affluence.
Court orders are no longer sacred. They’re flouted with the arrogance of those who know they can get away with it. Judgments, once based on truth, are now dictated by who can pay more. It’s no longer about facts,it’s about transactions.
We watched a governor openly defy court orders for years and still walk free. We’ve seen electoral disputes resolved not by the weight of evidence but by questionable technicalities that defy both common sense and public confidence. Meanwhile, the poor man who dares to steal a loaf of bread is locked away, forgotten. In Lagos, a man was sentenced to months in jail for stealing spaghetti and seasoning cubes. Yet, billions of naira are looted by politicians, and no jail cell remembers their name.
This isn’t corruption, it’s collapse. A collapse of everything that was once sacred in our legal system.
Judges who should stand as guardians of justice now wear their robes like they’re running businesses. Courtrooms are no longer places of reckoning,they’re negotiation tables. Lawyers speak of “going to settle” instead of “going to argue.” The language of justice has changed, and so has its soul.
But what makes this more dangerous is the silence of the oversight bodies. The National Judicial Council, which should act as a watchdog, often behaves like a sleeping guard. What happened to discipline? What happened to accountability within the bench? Are we to believe that nobody sees this rot?
A judiciary that cannot regulate itself becomes a threat to democracy. When the people lose faith in the courts, they seek justice elsewhere on the streets, in violence, or not at all. That’s how societies break. That’s how nations fall.
This affects everyone. Investors shy away from countries where contracts cannot be enforced. Elections lose credibility when the courts rubber-stamp fraud. Citizens become numb, hopeless, and detached when they realize the law no longer protects them. The very fabric of society begins to unravel.
So, what’s the price of a fair trial? What’s the value of truth? When the courts, once the ultimate guardians of fairness, are reduced to mere puppets in the hands of the powerful, then what happens to the ordinary citizen, to the mother struggling to feed her children, to the man just trying to make an honest living?
No democracy survives when its judiciary is corrupted. No society remains intact when the law is broken with impunity. And no people are truly free when justice is no longer sacred.
We cannot continue like this. We cannot normalize this betrayal. The media must raise its voice. Civil society must step up. Young people must demand transparency, and judges with a conscience must speak out,even if it means standing alone.
We must demand a judiciary that fears nothing but the truth. A system that values integrity over influence. If we allow this rot to continue, the idea of Nigeria as a fair and just society becomes a joke,and not a very funny one.
Nigerians, it’s time for a reckoning. We must demand accountability,not just from the politicians but from the judges who are meant to protect us. If we don’t rise now, we’ll wake up one day and realize that we’ve lost everything,our faith, our future, and our freedom.
The Nigerian people have always fought for what’s right. It’s time to fight for the soul of our judiciary. Because if we lose that, we lose everything.
Stephanie Shaakaa
University of Agriculture
Makurdi,
Benue State.
