Yesterday, I was alarmed by a headline in an International Newspaper that read “29 Nigerian children may be sentenced to death for protesting against cost-of-living crisis”. This was after I had earlier been traumatized by a disturbing video that emanated from the Federal High Court in Abuja where some minors who looked very sickly, wriggled in pain on the floor of the courtroom.
As you may already be aware, the federal government, on Friday, arraigned 76 persons, mainly underage children detained over involvement in the August nationwide #EndBadGovernance protest, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of a Federal High Court.
Shockingly, the suspects are facing a ten-count charge bordering on alleged treason, and conspiracy to commit felony with intent to destabilize Nigeria. All 76 of them were arrested and detained during the August 1 to 10, nationwide protest in the country which was sparked by widespread economic hardship that led many Nigerians to take to the streets to express their grievances. This implies that prior to their appearance in court on Friday, they had been in detention for at least 90 days.
Among the minors are Sanusi Nura 14yrs, Muhammed Yahaya 14yrs, Muhammed Musa 14yrs, Umar Musa 15yrs, Abdulaziz Abubakar 15yrs, Usman Sirajo 16yrs, Mukhtar Alhassan 16yrs, Ibrahim Rabiu 16yrs, Tasiu Lawal 16yrs, Jamilu Haruna 16yrs, Abdullahi Suleiman 16yrs, Abubakar ADAM 16yrs, Suleiman Ali 16yrs, Mustapha Kabir 16yrs, Amir Muhammed 17yrs, Umar Ali 17yrs, Sani Idris 17yrs, Mukhtari Yahaya 17yrs, Umar Abdullahi 17yrs, Salisu Adamu 16yrs, Habibu Sani 17yrs, Sadiq Sanusi 15yrs, Ibrahim Sani 17yrs, Saifullah Mohammed 17yrs, Hassan Mohammed 17yrs, Mustapha Abubakar 17yrs.
What is particularly troubling is that despite subjecting these children to inhuman treatment in the past three months, the court eventually granted 10 million naira ($5,900) bail to each of the defendants and imposed stringent conditions for their release. Their only crime? They protested against the cruel hardship being masterminded by the government of the day. This is the same court that granted bail to Alex Ikwechegh, a member of the House of Representatives representing Aba North and South, for ₦500,000 after he was arraigned on a three-count charge of abuse of office, assault, and threat to life – a lawmaker who boldly said he would make someone disappear and nothing will happen.
I am terrified that the Nigerian judiciary, once venerated as the last bastion of justice, is now the fulcrum of rampant corruption and cronyism. Once hailed as the pillar that citizens could rely on for truth and fairness, the judiciary has, in recent years, devolved into a troubling symbol of favoritism and influence for the wealthy and powerful.
Recall that in July this year, a report by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC), revealed that Nigerian public officials received nothing less than ₦721bn as bribes in 2023. The repugnant and egregious fact about this development is that Nigerian judges and magistrates received the highest amount of bribes among public officials in 2023, surpassing the police, customs, and military personnel.
“Among all types of public officials for which there was sufficient data, with an average of NGN 31,000, the largest cash bribes were paid to judges and magistrates, followed by customs or immigration service officers (NGN17,800) and members of the armed forces (NGN16,600).”
It added, “By contrast, much smaller average amounts were paid to doctors, nurses and midwives (NGN 6,000), public utility officers (NGN 4,600) and other health workers (NGN 2,900).”
In saner climes, this insalubrious and lugubrious revelation that has further unearthed how the nation has plummeted in the mud would have sparked uproars but no, the Nigerian people will rather mind their business and allow ambassadors of poverty to continue to plunge the nation into deeper parts of the sea until we will get to the part that swallowed Pharaoh and his people
We were all here when Adamu Bulkachuwa, a former senator, openly admitted to influencing judicial decisions made by his wife, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, during her tenure as President of the Court of Appeal. The senator’s brazen confession of tampering with judicial decisions on behalf of political colleagues laid bare the judiciary’s entanglement with Nigeria’s political elite. “My wife… has been very tolerant and accepted my encroachment and extended her help to my colleagues,” Bulkachuwa unabashedly stated. Today, like the former All Progressives Congress chairman, Adams Oshiomhole said, “once you join APC, your sins are forgiven,” Bulkachuwa is walking a free man despite his abominable revelations.
I also recall that retired Justice Muhammad Dattijo,d in his valedictory speech earlier this year, gave further weight to the grim reality of Nigeria’s compromised judiciary. He condemned the judiciary as a corrupt institution responsible for the growing disenchantment and distrust among Nigerians. “Court officials and judges are easily bribed by litigants to obviate delays or secure favorable judgments,” Justice Dattijo declared, a damning admission from within the institution.
Since the Kingmaker who is now a king ascended the nation’s most coveted throne, the office of the President, Bola Tinubu has been magnanimous to the Judiciary, including signing a bill that grants a 300 percent salary increase for judicial officers at the federal and state levels. Your thoughts are as good as mine.
As jaded as this may sound, I am highly distressed that the judiciary once described as the last hope of the common man, has become a stooge in the hands of politicians especially those in the ruling party. I am troubled that the once revered institution, where a poor man’s rights used to be upheld, has become safe haven for corrupt politicians. I am worried that the government of the day has captured the judiciary, leaving the masses with only divine options.
The implications of a corrupt judiciary are far-reaching, cutting deep into the fabric of Nigerian society. The NBS report’s findings reveal a judiciary beholden not to the law but to wealth and influence, where average citizens find themselves increasingly defenseless, and where justice is dispensed not on the merits of truth but on the weight of one’s pocket. For Nigeria, a nation grappling with deep-rooted challenges in governance and public trust, the decay within its judicial system represents a total fall of a system; it denotes that we are headed for total destruction.
At a time when the nation desperately needs institutions that stand for accountability and integrity, the judiciary’s compromise with bribery and favoritism spells disaster for the rule of law in Nigeria. With leaders like Bulkachuwa openly confessing to interference in the judicial process, and with reports like those from the NBS exposing the pervasiveness of bribery, the public’s faith in Nigeria’s judicial system is dangerously eroding. If the Nigerian people allow these evil leaders to hold onto power, I am afraid of what the next few years will look like.
Stanley Ugagbe is a Social Commentator. He can be reached via stanleyakomeno@gmail.com
