By Eteteonline
On Tuesday, March 10, Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, was questioned for many hours by representatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the substantial amount of money discovered in his wife’s hands.
While she was traveling to Benue State, the EFCC agents allegedly found $160,000 in cash in her possession.
This is only one instance of Nigeria’s numerous alleged instances of judicial corruption. However, how pervasive is the issue?
The Nigerian judiciary is rife with corruption, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). A representative of the UNODC announced this in 2024.
Twenty percent of people who interacted with the Nigerian judiciary reported being asked to pay a bribe, according to a 2019 poll conducted by the UNODC and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). “Corruption in the Nigerian judiciary is extensive and both male and female judges are party to it,” according to the report.
It has been demonstrated that the judiciary, which is meant to be Nigerians’ last hope for justice, is infected with a corruption virus.
Because judges and court employees engage in extortion and bribes, corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary is a serious problem.
47 corrupt judges were fired by the National Judicial Council (NJC) under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration (1999–2007).
Five judges were fired in 2004 for taking bribes to sway an election tribunal’s rulings in Nigeria.
Seven senior judges were suspended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) in 2016 due to corruption.
Adamu Bulkachuwa, a Nigerian senator, admitted on the Senate floor in June 2023 that he had influenced his wife’s choices when she was the President of the Court of Appeal.
Flora Azinge, the Chairman of the State and House of Representatives Election Petition Tribunal in Kano, expressed concern in August 2023 that a top attorney was trying to buy her off in order to sway the court. In court, she disclosed that a top attorney had offered one of her employees N10 million to buy off the panel members.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) was charged with corruption in 2023 by 14 of the 15 Supreme Court Justices.
To promote the welfare of judicial officers, President Bola Tinubu signed a bill in 2024 that raised their pay and benefits by 300%. However, this has not stopped them from engaging in extortion and bribery.
An unprecedented crackdown on misbehaving judges has been initiated by the NJC amid growing indignation. Allegations of political interference and corruption have led to increased scrutiny of the courts.
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