The 2027 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has launched a scathing attack on Nigeria’s criminal justice system, accusing it of protecting the rich while poor citizens suffer harsh punishment for petty offences.
 
“We cannot have a criminal justice system run by criminals,” he declared, promising a sweeping overhaul if elected president.
  
Adebayo spoke in an address delivered on his behalf by his campaign’s Chief Media and Communications Adviser, Mark Adebayo, at the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) annual lecture in Lagos, themed, ‘Understanding Human Rights Beyond Emotions and Personal Interests.’
  
In his address titled, ‘The Counter-Intuitive Architecture of Human Rights,’ Adebayo questioned a system he said appeared to punish the poor harshly while allowing wealthy individuals accused of corruption to enjoy privileges.
 
He contrasted a poor person jailed for stealing bread worth N1,000 with powerful individuals accused of diverting trillions of naira in public funds.
 
“The one who steals trillions from the treasury is taken to and fro court in luxury jeeps,” he said, promising to reform the criminal justice system to ensure equal treatment before the law, protect the innocent and punish those found guilty.
 
Adebayo warned that perceived double standards were destroying public confidence in the justice system and encouraging self-help.
 
He also defended the right of every accused person to legal representation, fair hearing and the presumption of innocence, regardless of the allegations against them.
 
According to him, defending an accused person does not amount to endorsing the alleged crime.

He argued that abandoning due process to punish unpopular defendants could eventually expose innocent citizens to arbitrary prosecution.
 
The SDP candidate also criticised civil society organisations for what he described as declining commitment to selfless activism.
 
He questioned why Nigeria’s estimated 18.3 million out-of-school children had not triggered sustained nationwide mobilisation by rights advocates.
 
Adebayo urged activists to move beyond selective protests and confront issues affecting millions of vulnerable Nigerians.
 
He recalled a protest in Abuja against electoral reforms during which demonstrators were tear-gassed, arguing that civil society groups should have sustained the campaign.
 
He also called for stronger mobilisation to defend citizens arrested or prosecuted for participating in peaceful protests.
 
Turning to the 2027 elections, Adebayo accused the President Bola Tinubu administration of preparing to undermine a free, fair and credible contest.
 
He claimed the government was aware of growing public dissatisfaction and challenged it to defend its record before Nigerians.
   
He warned that civil society organisations would bear historical responsibility if they fail to mobilise against what he described as the recycling of retrogressive leadership.
 
Adebayo also invoked the legacy of late human rights lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, arguing that genuine activism must defend rights irrespective of political differences or personal grievances.
 
He urged activists to reclaim the spirit of selfless advocacy and lead efforts to secure equal justice, accountable governance and credible elections.
 
He maintained that human rights must never become privileges reserved for the powerful or the politically connected.