Harvard-trained Professor of Law and the Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Prof Sam Amadi, in the extract above opening this week’s conversation, eloquently gave a summing up of the unconventional way elections are won in Nigeria. He identified the three institutions (INEC, Judiciary, and Security) whose failure has been responsible for the apparent retrogression of our democratic evolution In Nigeria. This week, our discourse will center on one of them, the judiciary in Nigeria, and the various tactics on display by the gladiators to compromise the institution that appears to have willing members playing along.
Prof Amadi’s position is supported by a recent survey conducted and published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Nigerian public officials received N721 billion in cash bribes in 2023, and Judges topped the list of recipients. The publication is a 160-page report title: “Corruption in Nigeria: Patterns and Trends.” There have been many discomforting means introduced by the political and business elite, especially those holding public offices, to hijack the judiciary through covert means.
This method undermines the integrity and independence of the judicial system. These nefarious acts come in various forms, including bribery, corruption, and undue influence. When judges or judicial officials receive gifts or favors, it can create a conflict of inte.