Former Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, has alleged deep-rooted corruption within the Nigerian judiciary, stating that the public has lost confidence in the justice system due to compromised judges and lawyers.
El-Rufai made these remarks on Monday, May 19, 2025, while speaking at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Bwari Branch Law Week in Abuja.
“In parallel, 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 said.
He expressed concern over the increasing issuance of ex parte orders in politically charged cases, alleging that some legal professionals were exploiting the system for political gain.
“The rise in forum shopping, the weaponisation of ex parte orders in political matters, and the growing perception that justice is for sale and available only to the rich and the powerful would cause the perceptive observer to conclude that what Nigerian courts do is the administration of law and not the administration of justice,” El-Rufai added.
The former governor also criticized the perceived dominance of the executive over the judiciary, arguing that a gap exists between legal procedures and actual justice.
“In Nigeria, there is a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between law and justice. Not only is justice wanting, but the law that is administered seems to be according to the wishes of the Executive,” he said.
Calling on members of the legal profession to reflect on their ethical responsibilities, El-Rufai urged them to reaffirm their commitment to impartial justice.
“The demand on you, as practitioners in the Temple of Justice, is a sober introspection as you contemplate whether indeed Justitia is blind and whether she holds the scales of justice in fine balance.”
