El-Rufai warns that justice in Nigeria is perceived as “for sale.”
Former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai has accused the Nigerian judiciary of corruption, inefficiency, and political bias, warning that public trust is rapidly eroding.
Speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bwari Branch Law Week in Abuja, El-Rufai said, “Our judiciary, meant to be the bedrock of fairness and order, is under intense scrutiny. Concerns about delayed justice, procedural inefficiencies, and in some cases, judicial compromise (to put the matter delicately), erode public confidence.”
He condemned the growing use of ex parte orders in political cases and accused lawyers of partisan manipulation. “The rise in forum shopping, the weaponisation of ex parte orders in political matters… would cause the perceptive observer to conclude that what Nigerian courts do is the administration of law and not the administration of justice,” he stated.
El-Rufai added, “There is a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between law and justice administered according to the wishes of the Executive.” He called for reforms and a renewed commitment to justice.