By Towncriernews
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Chief Emeka Ozoani on Tuesday mirror the reasons why the public viewed the judiciary in recent times as a compromised institution.
Chief Uzoani, made the revelation in a keynote address he delivered at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Benin branch Law Week in Benin City, capital of Edo State.
Speaking on the theme: “Restoring Credible Justice: Bridging the Gap Between Law and Public Trust in Nigeria’s Judiciary”, the senior lawyer blamed the perceived corruption the public have about the judiciary as an institution on both the Bar and the Bench.
He said: “We gather today not merely to fulfill a calendar obligation, but to confront a crisis. What lies before us is not a theoretical issue, it is a national emergency. The judiciary, once venerated as the last hope of the common man, now finds its credibility under severe strain. The real challenge is not just perception, it is the steady erosion of public confidence, and therefore, legitimacy.”
According to him, doubts about justice are on daily basis being voiced by litigants, lawyers and citizens alike on conflict court orders, delay and slow processes that have led to public disillusionment because some legal practitioners have resorted to becoming enablers of the dysfunction, compromising the profession’s integrity found in the judiciary system.
“Across the country, doubts about justice are voiced, by litigants, lawyers, and citizens alike. Conflicting court orders, delay, and slow processes have fed public disillusionment. Worse still, some legal practitioners have become enablers of the dysfunction, compromising the profession’s integrity. This is no longer a matter confined to courtrooms or legal discourse, it plays out in frustrated conversations in marketplaces, in cynical hashtags on social media, and in the growing apathy of citizens who have come to see justice as a privilege, not a right”, Uzoani declared.
Lord Atkin he quoted once said, “Justice is not a cloistered virtue. She must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny of ordinary men.” And what do the people say today? They say justice is too slow, too expensive, too uncertain. They see conflicting court orders, inexplicable ex parte rulings, and the quiet encroachment of political influence. Even worse, some members of our noble profession have become complicit—acting not as officers of the court, but as brokers of access and influence.”
Uzoani also quoted Professor Akin Oyebode as having once warned that “A judiciary bereft of public confidence is like a lighthouse with a shattered lens, present, but unable to guide.” And Justice Niki Tobi, of blessed memory, was equally blunt: “A judiciary that does not command public confidence has no foundation upon which to rest.”
Against these backdrops, he noted that the society now find at a pivotal juncture, confronted with the urgent and unavoidable question to the extent that a system of justice, once regarded as a sanctuary of fairness, now become perceived as a gamble, adding that the issue at hand is not an exercise to blame one party alone, but the bar and the bench shoul
His words: “This reflection is not an exercise in blame but a collective reckoning, demanding humility and resolve from both the Bench and the Bar. It is a call to acknowledge our shared responsibility, to critically examine the systemic failures, and to embark on the deliberate, principled journey of restoring the judiciary’s integrity and public confidence.”
He continued, “Restoring credible justice begins with acknowledging the deep trust deficit facing Nigeria’s judiciary. Public confidence, not just legal texts or rulings, gives the justice system its true legitimacy. Today, many Nigerians view the courts as compromised or ineffective, threatening the very foundation of democracy. This concern is no longer confined to legal circles, it echoes across social media, markets, and homes nationwide. With over 60% of citizens reporting little or no trust in the judiciary, according to Afrobarometer, we face not just public dissatisfaction but a profound crisis of legitimacy.”
He therefore listed symptoms of this credibility crisis as Accessibility: When justice becomes a privilege which he described as one of the clearest manifestations of the credibility crisis in the judiciary because of the widening gap in access to justice, a constitutional right under Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution that, for many Nigerians, remains more theoretical than real; when today, justice has become less a right and more of a privilege, expensive, distant, and often inaccessible; even filing, a modest civil claim is financially daunting; court fees, service costs, and procedural penalties quickly pile up.
To this extent, “A petty trader seeking to recover ₦150,000 may need over ₦40,000 just to initiate the process, excluding legal fees. For countless lawyers, particularly the younger ones, this often means absorbing costs or watching their clients abandon meritorious claims for lack of means. Beyond finances, geographic exclusion further entrenches this injustice. Rural litigants must travel long distances to reach sparsely located courts, only to face sudden adjournments, inadequate facilities, or indefinite delays. With fewer than 40 Court of Appeal divisions nationwide and limited Federal and State High Courts, the judicial landscape physically excludes the most vulnerable. The Legal Aid Council, intended to bridge this gap, remains chronically underfunil alike. The consequence is stark: those who most need justice are least able to access it. While corporations can afford prolonged litigation and politicians procure midnight injunctions with ease, a widow chasing her late husband’s pension may lose her case to “lack of diligent prosecution”, a failure not of will, but of system.
As the late Justice Kayode Eso warned, “A system that fails to deliver justice in good time, to the right people, in the right way, is a system in need of radical soul-searching.”
As Justice Chukwudifu Oputa warned, “Justice…should never again become a marketable commodity.”
He noted therefore that with what is happening presently, Nigeria is on the verge of institutionalising a dual justice system, one for the privileged, and another that barely functions for the rest which is not merely inefficient but a crisis of legitimacy because a justice system according to him that is financially unreachable, geographically remote, and procedurally hostile cannot sustain public trust.
Uzoani said If the system is serious about restoring credibility, access to justice must be reimagined as a policy priority, not a charitable exception, adding that until every Nigerian, regardless of means, location, or status, can meaningfully invoke their rights, the system is not delivering justice; but merely performing legality without fulfilling its promise.
He said for real reform to take place, there must be a shift from episodic punishment to systemic overhaul which path forward is clear: Enforce zero tolerance for corruption; Appoint judges based on merit, not patronage; Conduct routine lifestyle audits; Ensure transparency through public court data; Promote peer accountability; Institutionalise continuous ethics and leadership training.
On the part of the legal profession, Uzoani observed that lawyers also play huge part in fueling the trust deficit in the Judicial system, adding that a compromised Bench cannot exist for long without an enabling Bar who act at as a conduit between the litigant and the judicial officer.
“We have heard of cases where a lawyer was awarded hundreds of millions of naira from a contentious court order but failed to properly deposit the funds into the court registry, indicating unethical collusion with the Bench. In another case, a lawyer faced sanctions for making false and damaging claims against a judge, thereby distorting the public’s view of the judiciary.
“Additionally, there are lawyers who exploit the system by filing the same case in multiple courts, engaging in forum shopping with the intent to confuse the process, delay justice, or achieve a favorable ruling. Some lawyers, entrusted with client funds after favourable judgments, have failed to remit those monies. The judiciary has had to address such behavior.”
Throughout the years, the National Judicial Council (NJC) has not only taken disciplinary action against judges but has also referred numerous lawyers to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) due to professional misconduct.
As noted by one panel of the Court of Appeal:“The ingenuity of counsel in trying to manipulate the legal system calls for a corresponding ingenuity and dexterity from the Bench. The Bar has thrown all sorts of balls at us; we must keep our minds on the goalpost, which is the attainment of substantial justice.
“These are not isolated incidents. They reflect a systemic ethical crisis within parts of the Bar, one that actively erodes public faith in the legal system. The courtroom cannot command trust when lawyers weaponize the law to frustrate due process, or when litigants perceive legal practitioners not as guardians of justice, but as brokers of access to compromised judgments.
“Answers to these questions lie in how we, the Bar and the Bench, perform our roles. Restoring public trust, therefore, demands more than procedural reforms. It requires a cultural and ethical renewal. It calls for transparent appointments, digital transformation, judicial accountability, ethical legal practice, and inclusive access to justice. These are not optional upgrades; they are foundational imperatives. Let us not leave this conversation in the realm of theory. Let us act, with courage, with clarity, and with conscience. Because until justice is credible to the average Nigerian, whether in the courtroom, in the marketplace, or on the street, our work remains unfinished”, he concluded