By Hope O’Rukevbe EGHAGHA
The immediate inspiration for this essay is a sarcastic punchline, ‘judges in Nigeria appear (to be) increasingly of the view that prostitution is too important an enterprise to be abandoned to sex workers alone’ attributed to human rights activist Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, in reference to the widespread perception about corruption in the Nigerian judiciary. It is worrying to patriots that the name and image of the temple of justice have been bastardised, dragged to the mud with great opprobrium. This has profound effects on the very foundation of the rule of law, especially in a democracy!
In this discourse, perception is key as a standpoint, as a premise. The optics are not good for the judiciary. The question arises whether on the basis of perception we can pass valid judgments on a class of people, supposedly honourable and above board. Sadly, there have been some high-profile cases that did not brighten the light of judicial officers. To be sure, as in every class of persons there are exceptions.
Without tangible proof therefore, we can only rely on the quality of some verdicts, some allegations against some judges, and testimonies of some victims of corruption. One of the fundamentals of justice as the Judges themselves assert is that justice must not only be done; it must be seen to have been done. But these days, we see that justice wears different faces! Two people commit the same offence. One is sent to jail for seventy-four years. The other who indeed stole more money is asked to pay a fine and go free. The optics, the perception is not good. A man who did not take part in the primaries is ordered by the courts to be sworn in. A governorship candidate who came fourth in the general election is automatically sworn in as winner of the election. What about the man who came second or third? The optics are not good.
Never in the history of Nigeria has the judiciary been so vilified and accused of complicity in the corruption industry that the average citizen does not believe that the courts are a centre of justice, redress or truth and fair play. The perception is that justice goes to the highest bidder. The optics are not good.
In the days of military rule, judges resisted arbitrary orders, challenged the authority of military governors and administrators. Why has the judiciary buckled under the men and women who carry no guns? A colleague says that in this business, money is more powerful than guns!
It was English poet Geoffrey Chaucer who posed the question in the form of a proverb ‘If gold rusts what shall iron do?
The men who serve as judges should remember their oath of office. The men and women at the apex positions who serve as administrators of the judges must do all they can to restore decency, orderliness, accountability, and honesty to the bench. The fall of the bench is tantamount to the fall of moral codes. In the sacred books, even in traditional African societies, judges are sworn to fairness.
It is true that some judges err. We have seen instances where a matter is brought to court of equal jurisdiction with another that had given a verdict before. It is also that sometimes there is miscarriage of justice. To remedy the situation, in some jurisdictions, one man does not fully determine the matter before the court of law. Another safeguard is the appellate system at different levels.
Prostitution and justice are two extremes in the moral scheme of things. They ought not to meet. While the one stands on honour, the ideal, and the highest level of social relations, the other is at the bottom of the ladder. It is unwholesome, prurient, and degrading. A prostitute sells her body for money. Prostitutes themselves are not proud of the profession. As Bernard Shaw point out in his play Mrs. Warren’s Profession, as long as there are men willing to pay, there will always be prostitution. Can you imagine what a scandal it would be if a judge were found in the lodge of a prostitute!
In 1803, Judge John Pickering was accused of drunkenness on the bench, using profane language, and unlawful and scandalous conduct including keeping a prostitute in his house. He was the first federal judge to be impeached and convicted by Congress. In 1992, Judge Sol Wachtler Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals had to resign, pleaded guilty to federal harassment charges and served 14 months in prison for threatening his former lover and harassing her and her daughter, using a prostitute to deliver threats.
Meta AI says that ‘most scandals become public when the judge uses the position to cover up, intimidate, or exploit the relationship. In Nigeria, there is no report of judges in dalliance with prostitute. But what has been reported is worse than physical cohabitation with prostitutes. Nigerian judges, Meta AI writes, ‘have faced numerous, high-profile scandals involving bribery, corruption, age falsification, and ethical misconduct.
How can a judge get involved in age falsification?
In October 2016, the DSS raided the home of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and said that they found N35.2m, $319,596, £25,890 in cash. In 2018, the Federal High Court dismissed the charges on technical grounds – that serving judges can’t be prosecuted until the National Judicial Council first disciplines them. Justice Inyang Okoro of the Supreme Court also a target of the 2016 raids escaped prosecution for the same technical reason.
Between 2023 and 2025, a UN Office on Drugs and Crime report indicated that judges topped the list of public officials receiving cash bribes. The National Judicial Council has retired several judges for falsifying birth dates. Also, there have been conflicting court orders and some judges have been sanctioned for issuing contradictory ex-parte orders regarding political crises. In 2016, in a ‘sting operation’ by the DSS, several judges were arrested including Supreme Court Justices for alleged corruption. The question is: how pervasive is corruption in the judiciary?
Judgeship is a high calling, like that of the traditional, old-time priest. It should not be for all comers. The NJC must ensure that all judges who are compromised should leave the bench. But what happens if some members of the NJC are on the take too?
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