Amina Adamu Augie, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, has warned that corruption among judges, lawyers, and court officials is undermining the administration of justice in Nigeria, turning the courts into what she described as “market stalls” rather than temples of justice.
Augie stated that corruption within the legal profession has also damaged public confidence in the judiciary, calling for the punishment of erring practitioners, irrespective of their status or seniority.
She spoke on Saturday in Abuja at the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian Law School Class of 1986, also known as the Centennial Class, where she delivered a public lecture titled, “The Rule of Law and Justice Delivery — The Last 40 Years, Today and Tomorrow: Wither Nigeria?”
The retired Supreme Court justice, who was a lecturer at the Nigerian Law School before her judicial career, identified corruption, political interference, inadequate funding, and delays in the dispensation of justice as major obstacles confronting the judiciary.
“The third, which I will not dress up, is corruption. Where it exists on the Bench, at the Bar, or in the Registry, it poisons everything by turning the one place that a citizen should find impartiality into one more market stall,” she said.
She, however, cautioned against portraying the entire judiciary as corrupt, noting that most judges and lawyers are honest, hardworking, and underpaid. According to her, the judicial system must be structured to protect the integrity of its officers rather than expose them to temptation.
Augie expressed concern that the unethical conduct of some senior members of the legal profession has contributed significantly to the erosion of public trust in the administration of justice.
“Have we kept faith with them? In part, YES, in part, NO. Public trust has paid the price. The public today is quick to believe the worst of lawyers, and sorry to say, not always without cause,” she said.
“When a few senior members of the profession have been found to traffic in the corruption of justice, the damage is not to them alone; it stains the gown we all wear.”
She maintained that restoring public confidence would require more than image management, stressing that the legal profession must demonstrate the courage to discipline its members without regard to their influence.
“Restoring that trust is not a matter of better public relations. It is a matter of conduct and a profession willing to discipline its own, without fear or favor, no matter how senior the offender may be in the legal profession,” she said.
The retired justice reminded lawyers that their primary responsibility is to the court and the administration of justice rather than to their clients, adding that professional ethics require honesty, candor, and respect for the rule of law. She said lawyers must resist the temptation to manipulate judicial processes, fabricate evidence, or procure favorable judgments through improper means.
Beyond corruption, Augie identified inadequate funding as a major threat to judicial independence, arguing that a judiciary dependent on the executive for its basic operational needs cannot be considered fully autonomous.
“A Judiciary that must beg the executive for a courtroom roof, vehicles, or even the judges’ entitlements is not fully free; financial autonomy for the courts is not a perk for justices and judges, but a guarantee for litigants,” she said.
She also lamented the delays and high costs associated with litigation, describing delay as the chronic disease of Nigeria’s justice system. Drawing from her experience on the Supreme Court, she said the apex court is overwhelmed by appeals, including cases that should ordinarily not reach the highest judicial authority.
She recalled an appeal involving the burning of 12 goats, which had reached the Supreme Court despite its enormous workload. According to her, constitutional amendments are necessary to restrict the categories of appeals that can reach the apex court and allow its justices to concentrate on matters of greater legal and national significance.
Augie also criticized the persistent disobedience of court orders by government authorities, citing the prolonged detentions of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and Islamic Movement leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky despite judicial orders for their release. She said such conduct weakens the authority of the courts and encourages citizens to regard the law as optional.
Reflecting on the state of the judiciary over the past 40 years, she acknowledged the progress made since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 but expressed disappointment that justice remains slow, expensive, and inaccessible to many citizens.
She noted that Nigeria ranked 120th out of 143 countries in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, describing the ranking as an uncomfortable reflection of the country’s institutional weaknesses.
Augie called for reforms that would strengthen judicial independence, expand access to justice, improve case management, and restore ethical standards within the legal profession.
She urged members of the Class of 1986, many of whom now occupy senior positions in the judiciary and legal profession, to use their influence to defend the rule of law and restore public confidence.
“If governments obey the courts, if its judgments are enforced, if justice comes within a reasonable time and within reach of the poor, if the profession upholds its integrity and disciplines its own,” she said, Nigeria would be better positioned to secure its future.
She concluded that the survival and progress of Nigeria would ultimately depend on the willingness of its leaders and legal professionals to uphold the rule of law.
