Corruption Turning Nigerian Courts Into ‘Market Stalls’ — Retired Supreme Court Justice, Augie

A retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Amina Adamu Augie, has raised the alarm over corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary, warning that the practice is eroding public confidence in the justice system and turning the courts into what she described as “market stalls.”

Augie said corruption involving some judges, lawyers and court officials had undermined the credibility of the legal profession and weakened the public’s faith in the courts as institutions expected to uphold fairness, impartiality and the rule of law.

The retired jurist spoke in Abuja during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Law School Class of 1986, popularly known as the Centennial Class, where she identified corruption, political interference, inadequate funding and delays in the administration of justice as major challenges confronting the judiciary.

She called for decisive disciplinary measures against legal practitioners found guilty of misconduct, insisting that no individual should be shielded from accountability because of seniority, influence or professional standing.

“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.

Augie, who taught at the Nigerian Law School before embarking on her judicial career, cautioned against condemning the entire judiciary because of the misconduct of a few practitioners.

She maintained that many judges and lawyers remained honest and hardworking despite operating under difficult conditions, including poor remuneration and institutional pressures.

However, she expressed concern that the conduct of some senior members of the legal profession had contributed significantly to the decline in public confidence in the justice system.

“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.”

The retired Supreme Court justice argued that restoring public confidence would require more than publicity campaigns or efforts to improve the judiciary’s image.

According to her, the legal profession must demonstrate its commitment to integrity by openly and fairly disciplining members found guilty of misconduct, irrespective of their positions.

“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 favour, no matter how senior the offender may be in the legal profession,” Augie said.

She also reminded lawyers that their professional responsibilities extended beyond representing clients, stressing that they owed a fundamental duty to the courts and the administration of justice.

Augie urged legal practitioners to uphold honesty, candour, respect for judicial authority and the rule of law, warning against attempts to manipulate proceedings, distort evidence, frustrate cases through unnecessary delays or obtain favourable judgments through improper influence.

Beyond professional misconduct, Augie identified inadequate funding as a major threat to judicial independence, arguing that courts could not function effectively when they depended on the executive for basic infrastructure, operational requirements and judges’ entitlements.

She said financial autonomy was essential to ensuring that judicial officers could discharge their responsibilities without undue pressure or interference.

“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.

The retired jurist stressed that the consequences of inadequate judicial funding extended beyond the welfare of judges, affecting the ability of ordinary Nigerians to obtain timely and impartial justice.

She called for reforms that would strengthen the judiciary’s institutional independence while ensuring that legal practitioners operated under conditions that discouraged corruption and other forms of professional misconduct.