…Says Judges, Lawmakers, Lawyers have ‘Failed’ the System

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has delivered a scathing assessment of Nigeria’s democracy, accusing key institutions and influential groups of helping to normalise practices that are steadily eroding the country’s democratic foundations.

Obi said Nigeria was facing a “crisis” in which institutions expected to protect democracy were increasingly being compromised, warning that the consequences of the country’s present democratic failures could eventually be inherited by future generations.

The former Anambra State governor spoke on Tuesday at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue in Bauchi, where political leaders, constitutional experts and civil society actors examined the future of African democracy.

The dialogue, themed “Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and the Judiciary Save African Democracy?”, provided the backdrop for Obi’s broadside against the state of Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

Obi drew from his own experience as a litigant challenging his election as Anambra governor, recalling that he spent three years in court and secured favourable judgments from judges he said he had never met before.

He argued that the independence he encountered in the judiciary at the time would be difficult to imagine in Nigeria today.

“I was in court for three years challenging my election. Five judges that I never met for one day gave judgment in my favour. It cannot happen in Nigeria of today,” Obi said.

He said the same experience continued at the Court of Appeal, where another panel of five judges, according to him, ruled in his favour despite having no prior personal relationship with them.

Obi then contrasted that experience with what he described as the disturbing state of Nigeria’s democratic institutions today.

“So, if you look at that and look at what is happening today in Nigeria where professors are now aiding illiterates to rig elections, where our lawmakers have removed forgery as an offence in electoral matters, and Senior Advocates of Nigeria are defending forgery,” he said.

The NDC candidate also criticised the role of religious leaders in the political system, accusing some of them of seeking divine blessings for politicians he described as criminal.

“Our religious leaders are now praying for criminal politicians for blessings. We have a crisis,” he declared.

But Obi reserved some of his sharpest criticism for the judiciary, suggesting that the institution charged with protecting constitutional democracy was increasingly becoming entangled in political interests.

“And above all, our judges are now singing on your mandate,” he said.

His intervention effectively turned the Democracy Dialogue into a broader indictment of the institutions that should serve as the final line of defence for electoral integrity, accountability and constitutional governance.

Obi urged Nigerians to look beyond political parties and individual politicians and examine what he described as the systemic weakening of the institutions that sustain democracy.

He warned that practices tolerated today could become entrenched and eventually impose an even greater burden on younger Nigerians.

“We need to reverse this because the abuse we are allowing today will take its revenge on our children,” he said.

The former governor’s remarks come as political parties intensify preparations for the 2027 elections and as concerns continue to mount over the credibility of electoral institutions, judicial independence and the conduct of political actors.

The 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and attended by former President Goodluck Jonathan and former Vice President Namadi Sambo.

Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed hosted the gathering, which attracted constitutional experts, political leaders and civil society representatives from Nigeria and beyond.