Protests: Judiciary complicit in suppressing citizens, says Farotimi

Renowned social critic, lawyer and member of Citizens’ Rally against Oppression (RAMINBA), Dele Farotimi, has accused the Nigerian judiciary of being complicit in the oppression and suppression of citizens.

Farotimi expressed his concerns during an interview on Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, aired on Channels Television on Friday.

He lamented that the judiciary has become a tool for political manipulation, enabling politicians and elites to “oppress” and “suppress” the masses.

“The judicial system has become a tool for the oppression of the weak,” Farotimi said, referencing how federal and state governments used the courts to criminalise the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests, which addressed hunger and economic hardship.

“People went out to protest against hunger, and governments, even the one in Lagos State, went to the court to get injunctions against people looking to protest. They used the judiciary to handcuff citizens who presumed to demand the right to peaceful protests. They used judges to issue pronouncements.

“To make the matter worse, the [Nigerian] state went ahead to charge peaceful protesters for treason, to criminalise the right to protest? And the judiciary has become complicit in the oppression and suppression of the Nigerian people,” he added.

Farotimi further lamented that the judiciary no longer serves the common man but instead favours elites with the means to secure a “vestige of justice.” He called for urgent reforms, stating, “When what should become the last hope of the common man has become as hopeless as our judiciary, then, it becomes alarming.”

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He warned of the unsustainability of the current system and the urgent need for reform. “We must look at ourselves and tell ourselves the truth that what we have done to ourselves and our children is not sustainable. We’ve destroyed this country, and if we don’t call ourselves back, it will be beyond redemption very soon,” he said.

Farotimi, who himself is a lawyer, confessed to having lost faith in the judicial system, acknowledging that many of his cases are hopeless. “I have cases in court that I know I won’t get justice on… That’s how hopeless our judiciary has become. Only the rich can get a vestige of justice within the system. Only the rich and the powerful.”

Calling for a transformation of the judiciary, Farotimi emphasised that appointments should not be based on patronage but on merit, warning that without reforms, Nigeria’s judicial system would continue to fail the people.

“The Nigerian judiciary is in serious need of a turnaround,” he concluded. “Judicial reforms must address structural issues, and the system must evolve to be impartial and blind to all based on equity.”