In his newly published book Nigeria: Past and Future, former President Olusegun Obasanjo delivers a damning critique of Nigeria’s judiciary, claiming that it has been compromised by widespread corruption and undue political influence.
Obasanjo argues that the judicial system has deteriorated significantly, particularly since the start of the Fourth Republic, and no longer serves as a pillar of justice. Instead, he describes it as a “court of corruption rather than a court of justice.”
“The reputation of the Nigerian judiciary has steadily gone down from the four eras up till today. The rapidity of the precipitous fall, particularly in the Fourth Republic, is lamentable,” Obasanjo writes.
He warns that justice in Nigeria has become a commodity, available only to the highest bidder. “Where ‘justice’ is only available to the highest bidder, despair, anarchy, and violence would substitute justice, order, and hope,” he stated.
The book recounts a visit to a northern state where a governor pointed out six lavish duplexes, allegedly built by a judge with funds acquired from serving as chairman of election tribunals highlighting what Obasanjo sees as systemic rot in the judiciary.
Obasanjo also takes aim at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), accusing its chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, of undermining democratic processes since 2015. According to him, the electoral commission has manipulated results and overruled the will of voters, turning elections into what he called a “charade.”
“No matter what the will of the people may be, the Chairman of INEC since after the 2015 election had made his will greater and more important than the will of the people,” he said. “And worse still is the will of the judges – two out of three, three out of five corruptly overriding the will of millions of voters.”
Obasanjo didn’t spare the late President Muhammadu Buhari, accusing him of leveraging both the judiciary and political patronage to secure favorable rulings in his election disputes. He alleged that Buhari used financial incentives and strategic appointments to influence judicial outcomes.
“Buhari threw caution to the wind, no matter what had transpired between him and the judges who did his bidding. In his election cases, financially, he topped it up with appointments for them no matter their age and their ranks,” Obasanjo wrote.
He condemned the recurring manipulation of election results, where winners are declared losers and vice versa, only for aggrieved parties to be redirected to what he bluntly termed a “court of corruption.”
Obasanjo’s book, published by the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), is both a historical reflection and a call for urgent reform within Nigeria’s political and judicial systems.
