Nigeria’s judiciary is facing fresh questions over its independence as judges who once strongly defended their honour against claims of receiving free luxury cars are now openly accepting expensive vehicles and homes from political office holders, human rights lawyer and law professor Chidi Odinkalu has said.
Speaking on Nigeria Info FM, Odinkalu pointed to what he described as a major change in the attitude of the judiciary over the past three decades.
He recalled events in the early 1990s when Supreme Court justices led by then Chief Justice Mohammed Bello took media organisations to court after reports claimed that military ruler Ibrahim Babangida had given them exotic Mercedes Benz cars.
The judges regarded the reports as a serious attack on their integrity and independence. Their decision to pursue a high profile defamation case showed how seriously the judiciary once treated even the suggestion that judges could receive valuable gifts from the executive.
According to Odinkalu, that position has changed significantly.
He noted that a serving Chief Justice has now openly accepted a Mercedes Benz from a state governor even though the governor’s administration has cases before the courts.
He also raised concerns over luxury homes being provided to judges by the Federal Capital Territory administration under Minister Nyesom Wike.
The housing project consists of 40 fully furnished five bedroom duplexes in Abuja’s Katampe district. Each property comes with boys quarters, an event centre, landscaping, generators, perimeter fencing and advanced security facilities.
Under the arrangement, 20 houses are meant for judges of the FCT High Court, 10 are for Federal High Court judges and another 10 are for justices of the Court of Appeal.
The properties are not simply temporary official accommodation. Certificates of occupancy are issued in the names of the judges and justices who receive them, meaning the houses become their personal assets when they retire.
The homes were commissioned in the middle of 2026 in ceremonies attended by senior government officials. Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu, while government officials presented the project as part of efforts to improve judicial welfare, security and working conditions under the Renewed Hope agenda.
Odinkalu, however, questioned whether such benefits can be separated from the issue of judicial independence.
He argued that when politicians and government officials who may regularly appear as litigants before the courts provide judges with expensive vehicles and houses, it can damage public confidence in the fairness of the judicial system.
The concern is not only about whether a judge is actually influenced by a gift. It is also about how such gifts look to ordinary Nigerians watching the courts.
A judge may remain personally impartial, but receiving major financial benefits from political authorities whose actions could later be challenged in court can create the impression that the judiciary is too close to the executive.
The practice is also spreading beyond the federal level.
In several states, governors have presented fleets of SUVs and other vehicles to judges and magistrates, with the gifts often described as welfare measures designed to improve the working conditions of judicial officers.
Critics argue that the practice can create a relationship of dependence between judges and politicians and may raise questions about possible conflicts of interest.
Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has also criticised the FCT housing scheme, describing it as unconstitutional and an embarrassment to the country. He said arrangements of this nature weaken the principle of separation of powers.
The debate has now gone beyond the value of the cars or houses involved. It has become a wider question about what judicial independence should mean in Nigeria.
More than 30 years ago, the suggestion that Supreme Court judges had received luxury cars from a military ruler was considered serious enough to trigger a major legal battle over their reputation and independence.
Today, senior judges are openly receiving expensive vehicles and houses from political authorities, including officials whose governments may have interests before the courts.
For critics such as Odinkalu and Falana, that change reflects a worrying decline in the standards once associated with judicial independence.
The central question is whether better welfare for judges can be provided without creating ties that weaken public trust in the courts.
As these gifts become increasingly common, concerns are growing that the dignity and independence once fiercely defended by Nigeria’s judiciary could be giving way to political convenience, personal benefits and a dangerous loss of public confidence.
