While the current reform championed by CJN Kekere-Ekun offers a hopeful future, it also forces a long-overdue reckoning with Nigeria’s troubled judicial past—one marked by the appointment of individuals who never should have been allowed near the bench.
A glaring example involves a now-retired judge whose history reads like a dossier of misconduct and criminal abuse of power. During his tenure:
He assaulted a family member at the Altar during a Church service.
He unlawfully sealed his own mother’s residence using a judicial seal—typically reserved for court-ordered enforcement—effectively locking her out of her home without any legal basis for years till date.
He harassed and threatened relatives and community members, even ordering unlawful arrests and detentions.
He once arrested a commercial bus driver Kasali on a public road for merely stopping to let off passengers, an act entirely outside his jurisdiction and got him remanded to Kirikiri maximum prison for years.
He obtained fake medical records to facilitate long overseas travel, abandoning his courtroom responsibilities for months to Party in London without formal leave.
He was reported to have fought publicly at a family ceremony, tearing the clothes of his own relatives in a fit of rage because they were loyal to his mother.
He illegally carries a pistol without a license or official authorization, using it to intimidate and blackmail perceived opponents, relatives to submission.
He filed trumped-up charges to get citizens detained unjustly, leveraging his position to terrorize those who stood up to him.
This matter was formally reported to the National Judicial Council (NJC) during the tenure of former Chief Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, Nigeria’s first female CJN known for her tough stance on judicial ethics. The judge in question was eventually compulsorily retired—a disciplinary measure often used when a dismissal could attract more public scrutiny.
Committed Judicial murder by preventing a Cancer patient with a case before him from traveling to the UK for treatment despite all documents submitted and the person who was a Client of Falana died due to lack of treatment to stop the spread of the cancer.
However, many observers believe this outcome was far too lenient.
“That man should not be walking free. He should be in jail. He abused power, assaulted people, forged documents, and weaponized the law,” said a senior official from Nigerians for Good Governance and Integrity (NGI), Against Injustice, an advocacy group tracking judicial misconduct. “Compulsory retirement is not justice. It is an institutional cover-up.”
Renowned human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, reportedly took up some of the cases involving victims falsely detained under the judge’s orders. Several individuals were later released after it became evident that their arrests were founded on malice, personal vendettas, or fabricated claims.
This case represents just one of several where the lack of transparent vetting, psychological evaluation, and ethical enforcement allowed individuals with a pattern of violent behavior, mental instability, and criminal tendencies to sit in judgment over others.
It illustrates why the current reform—soliciting public comments before confirmation—is not just symbolic, but necessary to prevent future travesties of justice.
“You cannot give judicial power to a tyrant and expect justice,” NGI’s statement continued. “The judiciary must police itself or lose its legitimacy in the eyes of the people.”
In light of such egregious cases, legal experts are calling on the NJC to go further: implement lifetime disqualifications, mandated background and psychological checks, and provisions for criminal prosecution in serious cases of abuse.
Nigeria’s judiciary has long been seen as the last hope of the common man, but as these past examples show, it has at times also been the first instrument of oppression in the wrong hands.
Editor’s Note: HeadlineNews.News will continue to monitor the NJI’s vetting process and publish verified updates on the candidates under review. To submit your comments or concerns about any of the 82 shortlisted nominees, visit the official NJI portal before the public window closes.
