LAGOS – The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has warned that judicial corruption in Nigeria has reached alarming levels and now poses an existential threat to democracy, social justice, and the rule of law.
Osigwe sounded the alarm while presenting a paper titled ‘Judicial Corruption in Nigeria: A Menace to Democracy and Social Justice’, in which he decried the steady erosion of public confidence in the nation’s justice system.
According to him, judicial corruption has moved beyond isolated misconduct to become a moral crisis and a democratic emergency, undermining the very foundation of governance.
“The judiciary, which the Constitution envisages as the last hope of the common man, is increasingly perceived as a place where justice can be delayed, manipulated, or even purchased by the highest bidder,” Osigwe said.
Drawing from constitutional provisions, judicial precedents, religious texts, and empirical data, the NBA President traced the devastating consequences of corruption on democratic governance. He warned that once courts are compromised, democracy itself begins to collapse.
“Democracy thrives on the rule of law. But when courts become instruments for shielding the corrupt or persecuting political opponents, elections lose their meaning, governance becomes arbitrary, and citizens lose faith in the state,” he stated.
Osigwe further argued that judicial corruption fractures the social contract between the state and its citizens, discourages local and foreign investment, fuels insecurity, and deepens inequality across society.
He cited recent surveys by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), and Transparency International, which, he said, paint a troubling picture of the justice sector.
“The data shows that judges rank among the public officials perceived to be most vulnerable to bribery. This is deeply disturbing because corruption in the justice sector disproportionately harms the poor and vulnerable,” he noted.
According to him, when justice becomes dependent on wealth and influence, it ceases to be a right and instead becomes a privilege reserved for a few.
While acknowledging efforts by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to discipline erring judges, the NBA President insisted that current measures are insufficient to restore public trust.
“More decisive, transparent, and consistent action is required. We must urgently reform judicial appointments, disciplinary processes, case assignment systems, and the funding of the judiciary,” Osigwe said.
He stressed that merit, integrity, and accountability must replace patronage, secrecy, and opacity within the justice system if confidence is to be rebuilt.
Osigwe also emphasized that the responsibility to combat judicial corruption does not lie with judges alone, describing the problem as a collective failure.
“Corruption survives because there are corrupters and corruptees. The fight cannot be won unless citizens refuse to give bribes and are willing to report misconduct,” he said.
He called on lawyers, religious institutions, traditional rulers, civil society organisations, and the media to take a firm moral stand against corruption, urging them to stop celebrating wealth of questionable origin.
The NBA President warned that Nigeria’s democracy cannot endure under a compromised judiciary noting, “History will judge the Bar and the Bench not by their eloquence, but by their courage to act,” Osigwe declared.
“Restoring faith in the justice system is indispensable to protecting fundamental rights, strengthening democracy, and achieving social justice in Nigeria,” he said.
