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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has decried what he termed the growing tendency by lawyers and other Nigerians to analyse court judgements through the narrow lens of political allegiance.
He noted that the practice has become one of the most corrosive threats to public confidence in Nigeria’s institutions of justice.
Okutepa stated this in a lengthy X post on Saturday.
His intervention comes a day after the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) over alleged insulting remarks made by a lawyer, Kalu Kalu, against a judicial officer during a television programme.
Okutepa said, “One of the most corrosive threats to public confidence in Nigeria’s institutions of justice is the growing tendency to analyse judgements through the narrow lens of political allegiance. Too often, the question is no longer whether a decision is supported by the facts, the law and sound reasoning, but whether it favours a preferred politician or political party.
“The same voices that celebrate the judiciary today condemn it tomorrow, depending on whose interests a judgement serves. Sadly, some lawyers today analyse judgements and decisions purely from partisan considerations, without considering the true meaning of justice.”
He said their professional learning becomes an instrument for defending political interests instead of a means of examining whether justice has been done.
“A judgement does not become sound merely because it benefits our allies, nor does it become wrong because our opponents have succeeded. The legal profession diminishes its credibility when its standards change with the political identities of litigants.
“Justice demands judges who are independent in every meaningful sense: independent of political control, financial inducement, personal relationships, partisan sympathy and fear of consequences. Judicial independence must be reflected in the courage to apply the law impartially, protect rights and decide against the powerful whenever the facts and the law require it,” the senior lawyer stated.
He noted that perceptions of political interference have gravely damaged confidence in judicial institutions.
He said, “Confidence grows when judicial conduct, procedures and reasoning provide convincing grounds for trust. Any judgement delivered without justice in its undiluted form cannot promote the people’s confidence. Justice requires fidelity to the law, fairness to the parties, impartial consideration of evidence and honest reasoning.
“Neither public applause nor partisan satisfaction can supply these essential qualities. Equally, justice cannot mean whatever outcome a political group desires. Lawyers have a duty to examine decisions with intellectual honesty and consistent standards. Defending defective reasoning because a political ally benefits, or attacking sound reasoning because an opponent succeeds, undermines the very institution lawyers are professionally bound to strengthen.
“Respectful, informed criticism serves justice; partisan justification weakens it. Nigeria’s justice system must return to an approach that builds confidence in the judicial institution through fair hearings, principled decisions, transparent administration and demonstrable independence. Citizens must be able to approach the courts believing that influence, wealth and political connections will confer no advantage.
“The judiciary’s enduring authority rests on the people’s trust that justice will be done. Preserving that trust requires judges and lawyers alike to place justice above political convenience and to uphold the same principles regardless of who wins or loses.”
NBA president petitions LPDC
In a Friday statement shared via her X handle, Badejo-Okusanya condemned the lawyer’s comments during the November 11, 2026 edition of Channels Television’s “Politics Today”, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.
Kalu, counsel to former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, was discussing the November 5, 2026 Federal High Court judgement delivered by Justice Peter Lifu concerning the leadership crisis in the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and its implications for Atiku’s 2027 presidential ambition, when he allegedly made disparaging personal remarks about Justice Lifu.
The host had interjected during the programme: “I will not allow you to use this platform to disparage a sitting judge… calling him personal names and attacking his personality.”
The NBA president said she watched a recording of the programme and condemned the remarks, insisting that lawyers must maintain professional conduct even when expressing disagreement with judicial decisions.
“A lawyer’s disagreement with a judicial decision, however strongly held, cannot excuse personal abuse of the judge who delivered it. Neither the intensity of a political controversy nor the platform on which a lawyer speaks relieves that lawyer of professional responsibility,” she said.
She acknowledged that lawyers had the right to scrutinise judgements, challenge their reasoning and expose errors, adding that constructive criticism was necessary for the development of the law and the administration of justice.
She, however, said personal attacks on judicial officers undermined public discourse and brought the legal profession into disrepute.
“Personal insults do nothing to establish that a judgement is wrong. They offer the public no legal analysis and provide no remedy for an aggrieved litigant. Instead, they diminish the quality of public debate and bring our profession into disrepute,” she stated.
Badejo-Okusanya noted that the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, required lawyers to maintain high standards of professional conduct and treat courts with respect, dignity and honour.
She disclosed that she had forwarded a formal petition, alongside relevant broadcast materials, to the LPDC for consideration, adding that Kalu would be given the opportunity to respond, while the committee would determine whether professional misconduct occurred and the appropriate sanction, if any.
