Dele Farotimi: Nigeria’s judiciary hopelessly compromised — it can’t dispense justice

Dele Farotimi, human rights advocate, says Nigerians cannot get justice from a judiciary which he claims has been “hopelessly compromised”.

Farotimi spoke on Monday at the international human rights day conference organised by the Lagos chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The event, which took place at the Lagos law school, was organised to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the universal declaration of human rights.

Speaking on the topic: ‘Judgment versus Justice: The Nigerian Experience’, Farotimi said the country’s judiciary was not designed to dispense justice but to do the bidding of the ruling elite.

The human rights advocate said when cases that involve the ruling elite are brought before the judiciary, they often receive urgent attention.

He added that the idea of justice in Nigeria is an “illusion” and that the judiciary needs a “total overhaul”.

“The judicial system, especially the appointment process, is designed for a specific purpose,” he said.

“The intention of the judiciary is not to deliver justice, it is to pretend that we are a law-based society and to preserve the advantages of the sovereign (ruling elite).

“Justice in Nigeria is an illusion. The objective reality suggests that we lie to ourselves that we can get justice out of a system that is so hopelessly compromised.

“The pool of justice in Nigeria is almost irredeemably and irreparably destroyed but it is not only the problem of the judiciary, it is the entire society itself.

“Our judiciary requires urgent changes and drastic overhaul but most importantly the entire society itself is in need of moral reawakening to decide the course of the country.”