NIGERIA’S democratic system heavily relies on the judiciary, which plays a crucial role in upholding the rule of law, justice, and human rights.
As an independent branch of government, the judiciary ensures that the legislative and executive branches operate within their constitutional limits.
Given Nigeria’s complex history of corruption, military rule, and human rights violations, the judiciary’s significance cannot be overstated.
The country’s court system has a vital role to play in shaping its democratic future and ensuring that the principles of justice and human rights are upheld.
As 2024 comes to a close, The ICIR takes a look at some of the key issues that shapped the judiciary.
Supreme Court gets full complement of justices
In February, the Supreme Court got a full complement of 21 justices as the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, swore in 11 new justices who added to the existing 10.
With the swearing-in of the justices, the apex court got its 21 justices as stipulated in the Constitution.
The new justices are Stephen Jonah Adah, Habeeb Adewale Abiru, Jamilu Yammama Tukur, Mohammed Baba Idris, Obande Festus Ogbuinya, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar.
Others are Jummai Hannatu Sankey, Moore Aseimo Adumein, Haruna Simon Tsammani, Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa, and Chioma Egondu Nwosu-Iheme.
Nigeria gets second female Chief Justice
In September, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun was sworn in as the 23rd Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Kekere-Ekun was sworn in by President Bola Tinubu after confirmation by the Senate as the substantive CJN making her the second female to hold the position in Nigeria.
The ICIR reported that the former CJN, Kayode Ariwoola retired on Thursday, August 22, after clocking 70 years of age.
Kekere-Ekun, 66, is the second female CJN after Mukhtar. She was elevated to the Supreme Court of Nigeria as the 5th female justice of the court and was sworn in July 2013.
New NBA president emerges
In July, Afam Osigwe, a Senior Advocate emerged as the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) succeeding Yakubu Maikyau.
With 20,395 votes, Osigwe received more votes than his nearest competitor, Tobenna Erojikwe, who got 10,970, and Chukwuka Ikwuazom who garnered 9,007 votes.
Osigwe officially assumed office as the 32nd president of the NBA in a ceremony held in Lagos. He succeeded Maikyau, and took the oath of office on Thursday, marking the start of his tenure as the leader of the prestigious legal body.
Landmark cases in 2024
The year started with the Supreme Court upholding governorship elections in many states, including Sokoto, Taraba, Rivers
Supreme Court affirms Farouk Lawan’s five-year sentence
Also in January, the Supreme Court of Nigeria upheld a ruling that sentenced a former House of Representatives member, Farouk Lawan, to five years imprisonment for bribery. The court gave the ruling following an appeal by the former lawmaker against previous judgments by lower courts convicting him of bribery.
He was to serve two prison terms of seven and five years concurrently and was ordered to return $500,000 to the government. However, an Appeal Court overturned the previous ruling on two of the three counts he was tried for, reducing his jail term from seven to five years.
In October, Lawan was released from prison after serving his five-year sentence for soliciting and accepting a $500,000 bribe from a Nigerian businessman, Femi Otedola.
Lawan, who once chaired the House of Representatives ad-hoc committee investigating fuel subsidy fraud, was initially convicted in 2021 for collecting bribes aimed at removing Femi Otedola’s company from the list of firms implicated in the fuel subsidy scandal of 2012.
Supreme Court grants financial autonomy to LGAs
The Supreme Court of Nigeria granted the nation’s 774 Local Governments Areas (LGAs) financial autonomy in a judgment passed on Thursday, July 11.
The judgement, read by Justice of the Supreme Court, Emmanuel Agim, held that funds meant for LGAs be paid directly into their accounts.
The court also ruled that it was unconstitutional for the state governments to hold on to or manage such allocations and directed the 774 LGAs to commence managing their funds.
The judgment was passed in a suit filed by the federal government through the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi against the 36 state governors in the country, seeking full autonomy for local governments.
Court stops federal allocation to Rivers
In a judgement, in October the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold the federal government’s monthly allocation to the Rivers State Government.
The presiding judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, in a ruling on Wednesday, October 30, maintained that the presentation of the 2024 budget by the Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to four members of the state assembly was an aberration and an affront to Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution (as amended).
According to the judge, Fubara’s receipt and distribution of monthly allocations since January 2024 was illegal.
She directed Zenith Bank, Access Bank, the CBN, as well as the Accountant General of the Federation to stop Fubara from getting access to funds from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Account.
The judge delivered the ruling in response to a lawsuit brought before the court by the Rivers State House of Assembly, headed by Martins Amaewhule.
However, Fubara formally appealed the ruling that halted the monthly Federal Allocation Account Committee (FAAC) disbursement to the state.
Court bars VIO from confiscating vehicles, imposing fines on motorists
A Federal High Court in Abuja barred the Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DTRS), otherwise known as the Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), from stopping vehicles, confiscating them, and imposing fines on motorists.
Delivering the judgement in case number FHC/ABJ/CS/1695/2023 on Wednesday, October 2, Justice Nkeonye Evelyn Maha, held that no law empowered the respondents to carry out such activities.
The order also binds the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Director of Road Transport, and the Area Commander, Jabi.
Furthermore, a restraining order was issued by the court against the respondents, to stop them and their agents from impounding or confiscating vehicles or imposing fines, declaring such actions as improper, illegal, and oppressive.
Court summons Yahaya Bello over alleged N110.4bn fraud
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama, Abuja, summoned the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, over a fresh 16-count preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The fresh count charge against him was linked to an alleged N110.4 billion fraud.
The judge, Maryanne Anenih, asked Bello to appear before it on October 24 along with two other defendants, Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu.
Lagos court frees police sergeant after 11 years in detention
A Lagos State High Court released a police sergeant, Emmanuel Uyanweke, after 11 years of incarceration. Uyanweke, who was once attached to the Ojo police division in Lagos, was freed on October 24, 2024.
He was released after the Foundation for Public Interest Law and Development (FPIL&D) intervened and took his case to court. The presiding judge, Ibironke Harrison, threw out the case against the accused for lack of diligent prosecution.
Supreme Court nullified the National Lottery Act 2005 enacted by the National Assembly
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a seven-member panel of justices in November, the apex court, led by Mohammed Idris, ruled that the national assembly lacked the authority to create laws related to lottery and games of chance.
According to the court, this power exclusively resides with state houses of assembly, which have jurisdiction over lotteries and games of chance.
Idris ordered that the National Lottery Act 2005 should no longer be enforced in all states, except for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the national assembly has the power to make laws.
Supreme Court dismisses suit challenging EFCC Act
In November, the Supreme Court dismissed a suit filed by some state attorneys-general challenging the constitutionality of the EFCC Act.
In a unanimous decision, a seven-member panel of justices, led by Uwani Abba-Aji, criticised the plaintiffs, particularly the attorney-general of Kogi State, for their claims.
In her lead judgment, Justice Abba-Aji highlighted that the suit revealed the EFCC had invited and investigated officials of the Kogi State government, which she deemed to be the driving force behind the legal tussle.
The ICIR reports that the case, initially brought by the attorneys-general of 16 states, sought to disband the EFCC, questioning the legal foundation of its establishment.
Appeal court clears ex-CJN Onnoghen, orders FG to unfreeze accounts
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, cleared a former CJN Walter Onnoghen, of the charge that led to his removal from office in 2019.
About six years after he was convicted, a three-man panel of the appellate court, led by Mohammed Bello, exonerated the ex-CJN following a settlement agreement the federal government entered with him.
Court throws out case against #EndBadGovernance protesters
In November, a Federal High Court (FHC) in Abuja threw out the suit against 76 persons charged for participating in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests in August.
The judge, Obiora Egwuatu, struck out the suit on Tuesday, November 5, following an application by the counsel to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Abubakar, to take over and terminate the suit.
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by the Director of Public Prosecution of the Federation (DPPF), said at the proceedings that he was exercising his power under Section 174 of the 1999 Constitution to take over the case from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun.
The judge ordered the accused, the majority of whom are allegedly minors, to be released from prison immediately, even though they were not present in court.
The ICIR reported that President Bola Tinubu on Monday, November 4, ordered the release of minors arrested, detained, and charged to court for alleged involvement in the EndBadGovernance protests, following widespread outrage over their recent arraignment.
The arrest, detention and subsequent arraignment of the boy protesters sparked national backlash, with many Nigerians and human rights groups condemning what they described as inhumane and unjust treatment of children.
The ICIR reports that during the #EndBadGovernance protests, which drew thousands of Nigerians to the streets in a movement advocating for transparency, accountability and an end to police brutality, several young protesters were arrested and detained. Among those detained were minors, reportedly held in various facilities under challenging conditions.
The minors who appeared in court on Friday, November 1, were charged with 10-count bordering on alleged treason and conspiracy to commit a felony with intent to destabilise Nigeria, an offence contrary to Section 96 and punishable under Section 97 of the Penal Code Act.
However, the incident was heightened when some minors, who were among 76 persons set to be arraigned by the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), collapsed in the court on Friday, November 1. One of the defendants slumped while the judge was reading the charges.
Yahaya Bello appears in court, pleads not guilty to 16-count charge
The immediate past governor of Kogi State, Bello appeared in court after so many months of hide and seek and pleaded not guilty to the 16-count charge preferred against him by the EFCC.
Bello is being charged along with two others before Maryann Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja.
This development came after Umar Shuaib Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, Bello’s co-defendants, were granted administrative bail by the EFCC, while Bello himself made his first court appearance.
Bello, Oricha, and Hudu are being prosecuted as the 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively, in a fresh N110bn 16-count charge instituted against them by the EFCC.
The court remanded Bello and the two other defendants in the EFCC custody until December 10, 2024.
EFCC chairman faults frequent adjournments of high-profile corruption cases
The chairman of EFCC Ola Olukoyede, frowned at the frequent adjournments of high-profile corruption cases by Nigerian courts.
Olukoyede listed other challenges facing the commission, including conflicting court orders from courts with coordinated jurisdiction, contempt orders targeting its leadership, and an over-reliance on technicalities in corruption cases.
Olukoyede stated that unwarranted injunctions hindered the commission’s investigations into corruption cases.
He added that the issues were compounded by challenges plaguing Nigeria’s law enforcement, such as corruption and lack of professionalism.
Olukoyede stated this while speaking at the 6th EFCC/National Judicial Institute (NJI) capacity-building workshop for justices and judges in Abuja on Monday, October 7.
The courts are becoming too involved with our electoral processes – Ibrahim
Jibrin Ibrahim, a professor of Political Science, who is a Senior Fellow with the Centre for Development accused the courts in Nigeria of becoming too involved with the electoral processes
Ibrahim who was the director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) claimed many judges are on the payroll of politicians and are paid bribes to produce injustice rather than justice. You can read his full exclusive interview with The ICIR here.
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