A human rights activist and lawyer Dele Farotimi, in a recent interview on MIC ON PODCAST, lasted Chief Justice Ariwoola for appointing family members to prominent judicial roles, including his son as a Federal High Court judge, his daughter-in-law as an FCT judge, and his brother as an Auditor for the Nigerian Judicial Council, which is viewed as a serious breach of judicial ethics.
He said, look at Ariwoola; a man is the Chief Justice of the Federation, he makes his son a judge of the Federal High Court, his daughter-in-law a judge of the FCT; his brother as an Auditor of the Nigerian Judicial Council etc. That’s egregious abuse of the judicial code of conduct.
Farotimi, who left legal practice in 2018, expressed his disillusionment with the legal profession, stating that the problems within the system did not surprise him. “I wasn’t coming to practice to discover that the legal system is horrible,” he said, noting that he has since found alternative ways to live and earn a living outside the legal field.
The activist also boldly claimed that Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate, did not lose the 2023 presidential election. “He won, but the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the judiciary performed their magic,” Farotimi remarked, implying widespread electoral malpractice.
Looking ahead to 2027, Farotimi stressed that he would not participate in the elections unless significant reforms are implemented in Nigeria’s electoral system. He demanded that the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and electronic transmission of results from polling units become mandatory, otherwise, he sees no point in engaging with the process.
Farotimi expressed his complete lack of faith in the current administration under President Bola Tinubu. “I had no expectation of anything good from this government,” he said. “I was not under any illusion whatsoever about this government.”
