Nigeria’s judiciary is disgusting, Peter Obi declares

Peter Obi, former Anambra governor, has berated the Nigerian judiciary as disgusting and uninspiring, lamenting “reckless Court judgments threatening to destabilize or deprive the State of funding to provide needed services to the citizens.”

In a statement on his X handle on Sunday, Mr Obi condemned the three arms of government: the executive, legislature, and judiciary.

“What is coming out of the three arms of government, the Executive, the Legislature, and the Judiciary is disgusting and uninspiring,” Mr Obi said.

Mr Obi, who was the Labour Party presidential candidate in 2023, said, “The Executive show of negative power as seen in Osun State, the reckless Judiciary pronouncement on Rivers State that is capable of threatening democracy, plus the embarrassing scandal from the National Assembly, all combine to give a gloomy picture of our democratic journey.”

According to Mr Obi, leaders in these three arms should avoid undue disruptive interference in the affairs of sub-national government activities. Urgent steps should be taken by the leadership of the three arms to stabilize the polity and prevent politicians from defecting to parties where they feel it will be easier to rig them into office.

In 2024, Mr Obi berated the Nigerian judiciary, saying “justice” has been “commodified” and delivered in favour of the “highest bidders.”

Mr Obi’s outburst against the Nigerian judiciary comes after the Supreme Court on Friday delivered two of three judgements that favoured the loyalists of Nyesom Wike, who are rebelling against the leadership of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, while the top court neglected to immediately rule on the third matter that might give the governor an edge.

The apex court reserved a ruling on appeals that could give Mr Fubara political mileage in his state, leaving him politically vulnerable after two successive losses to his adversaries.

In late February, Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi advised Osun State to suspend planned local government polls amid a violent tussle for supremacy between Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party and his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress.

Though Justice A.A. Aderibigbe of the Osun State High Court, Ilesa Division, had ordered that the local government election scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2025, should be conducted, Mr Fagbemi advised that the exercise be suspended, citing a February 2025 judgement by the Akure Division of the Appeal Court, which nullified the November 2022 judgement of the Federal High Court in Osogbo, Osun State.