|By Adejumo Adekunle
President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has stirred a nationwide debate after accusing members of the judiciary and legal profession of being among Nigeria’s worst perpetrators of bribery, warning that judicial corruption now poses a grave danger to democracy and social justice.
Osigwe made the remarks on Friday while delivering a lecture at the Ralph Opara Memorial Lecture organised by the National Association of Seadogs in Enugu. The lecture, themed “Judicial Corruption in Nigeria: A Menace to Democracy and Social Justice,” drew legal practitioners, civil society actors and members of the public.
The NBA president lamented that many court decisions are no longer driven by evidence or the rule of law but by what he described as the “fatness of envelopes,” arguing that the judiciary has drifted from its historic role as the last hope of the common man.
“The judiciary, once revered as the last hope of the common man, is increasingly perceived as a marketplace where justice is auctioned to the highest bidder,” Osigwe said, describing the situation as both a moral collapse and a democratic emergency that has badly eroded public trust.
To back his claims, Osigwe cited findings from a 2024 survey by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in collaboration with the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), which estimated that public officials received about ₦721 billion in cash bribes in 2023, with judges listed among the top recipients.
He also referenced an Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) report indicating that ₦9.4 billion in bribes flowed through the justice sector between 2018 and 2020, identifying lawyers and litigants as major bribe-givers. According to him, the consequences of a compromised judiciary are reflected in Nigeria’s ranking of 140th out of 180 countries in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Osigwe warned that judicial corruption empowers the wealthy and politically connected to evade accountability, while the poor and vulnerable are denied justice.
His comments came amid recent integrity concerns in the judiciary. In December 2025, no fewer than 34 lawyers out of 62 nominated for appointment as judges of the Federal High Court were dropped after failing an integrity screening dominated by allegations of corruption and unethical conduct.
The screening, conducted under new National Judicial Council (NJC) guidelines, relied heavily on public petitions. Following the publication of the nominees’ names in September 2025, several petitions accused candidates of bribery, abuse of office and professional misconduct.
One high-profile case involved a female nominee accused of demanding and receiving bribes. Investigations reportedly confirmed that she collected ₦1 million in connection with a court matter handled by her office. Based on such findings, the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) upheld only 28 nominations and disqualified the remaining 34.
At the state level, the Kano State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) also took disciplinary action in November 2025 against judicial officers and court staff found guilty of corruption and unethical conduct.
Among those sanctioned was Isa Wudilawa, a Principal Registrar at the Magistrate Court, Zungeru Complex, who was demoted for diverting official funds into his personal account. Alkali Shamsu Maul’ainaini of the Upper Shari’a Court, Durbunde, was similarly demoted and warned for financial misconduct and removal of court records, while Ibrahim Salim, a court clerk, was dismissed for forgery, falsification of records and demanding bribes from litigants.
The actions were widely seen as attempts to enforce accountability and rebuild confidence in the justice system.
Reacting to the developments, Amnesty International described corruption in the justice sector as deeply troubling. Speaking to DAILY POST, Amnesty International Nigeria Director, Isa Sanusi, said no society could function effectively with a compromised judiciary.
“For years, we have heard allegations of corruption involving judges and lawyers. The judiciary is the last institution standing for the protection of rights and the defence of the powerless,” Sanusi said, urging the NBA to move beyond rhetoric to concrete action.
However, a legal practitioner, Barrister Umar Usman Dan Baito, disputed claims that the judiciary is Nigeria’s most corrupt sector. While acknowledging that bribery within the justice system is dangerous, he argued that significant integrity still exists within the bench.
Dan Baito recalled warnings by the late Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, who once said a corrupt judge could be more dangerous than an armed robber, but maintained that politics remains more corruption-prone.
“I do not believe the judiciary is the most corrupt sector. There is still a lot of honour and professionalism within the system. Politics, in my view, is far more corrupt, as most corruption cases originate there and eventually come before the courts,” he said.
As the debate intensifies, legal experts and civil society groups are calling for sustained reforms, strict accountability mechanisms and decisive sanctions against offenders, warning that the survival of Nigeria’s democracy depends on restoring integrity and public confidence in the judiciary.
