RIGHT OF REPLY: JUDICIAL CORRUPTION CANNOT BE CONDEMNED WITHOUT ACCOUNTABILITY — WHERE WERE THE WATCHDOGS WHEN THE SYSTEM WAS FAILING?
By Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu
October 19, 2026.
A Response to Former Supreme Court Justice Amina Adamu Augie on Corruption in Nigeria’s Judiciary.
Former Supreme Court Justice Amina Adamu Augie has raised serious concerns about corruption in Nigeria’s judiciary, warning that bribery and other unethical practices risk turning courts into marketplaces where judgments are bought and sold rather than institutions where justice is delivered.
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While her concerns deserve attention, an important question must be asked: Why are some of those who occupied the highest positions in the judiciary speaking so forcefully about the system’s failures only after retirement, when they had years of service and institutional authority to contribute to addressing the very problems they now condemn?
The Nigerian public deserves more than warnings from retired judicial officers. It deserves honest reflection, institutional accountability and a clear explanation of what was done, or left undone, while those officers were still in positions of responsibility.
Justice Augie’s observations, reportedly made during a reunion of the 1986 set of the Nigerian Law School in Abuja, raise fundamental questions about the effectiveness of the judiciary’s internal disciplinary mechanisms, the independence of judicial officers and the protection of public confidence in the administration of justice.
The Question of Institutional Responsibility.
Nobody should dispute the seriousness of corruption in the judiciary. When allegations of bribery, manipulation of court proceedings or improper influence over judicial decisions arise, they must be investigated fairly and dealt with according to the law.
However, the debate cannot end with condemning the current state of affairs. It must also examine the institutional history that allowed weaknesses to persist.
Those who served in senior judicial positions over several decades were not merely observers of the system. They were participants in its administration, custodians of judicial standards and, depending on their respective offices, people entrusted with responsibilities for promoting discipline, integrity and public confidence.
It is therefore reasonable to ask what measures were introduced during their tenure to strengthen accountability, address credible allegations of misconduct, improve the handling of complaints and protect the judiciary from improper influence.
This is not an argument that every retired judge is responsible for every problem in the judiciary. Neither is it a suggestion that a person loses the right to speak about corruption after retirement. Rather, it is a demand for consistency: those who criticise an institution they once led should also be willing to explain their own records and the limitations they encountered while serving.
Retirement should not become a shield against scrutiny, just as public criticism should not become a substitute for evidence.
Why Did These Concerns Not Receive the Same Urgency Before Retirement?
The central question is not why Justice Augie has spoken. She has every right to express her views on matters of public importance. The question is whether the urgency of her present criticism was matched by equally determined action, advocacy or public warnings during her years on the Bench.
If judicial corruption had reached a level capable of undermining public confidence, what institutional safeguards did the relevant authorities pursue? Were disciplinary procedures sufficiently effective? Were credible complaints investigated promptly? Were reforms proposed to prevent undue influence over judicial decisions?
If there were obstacles to confronting these problems, the public deserves to understand them. If there were reforms she championed, Nigerians should also hear about them.
These are legitimate questions of public accountability, not personal attacks.
The credibility of a reform message is strengthened when its messenger is willing to examine the past as honestly as the present.
Corruption Must Be Investigated, Not Merely Discussed
Nigeria’s judiciary is too important to be reduced to a battleground of accusations and counteraccusations. Millions of citizens depend on the courts to resolve disputes, protect their rights, determine electoral cases and hold public officials accountable.
Where corruption exists, it must be confronted without fear or favour. Where allegations are unsubstantiated, individuals must not be condemned without due process.
The appropriate authorities, including the National Judicial Council and other legally empowered institutions, should ensure that credible complaints against judicial officers receive impartial attention. Lawyers and court personnel implicated in misconduct should also be investigated through the appropriate professional and legal channels.
Equally, the judiciary must protect honest judges whose reputations could be unfairly damaged by generalised accusations.
The objective should not be to discredit every judicial officer, but to ensure that no one is above scrutiny simply because of a title, seniority or former position.
Retired Judicial Officers Should Also Be Open to Financial Accountability
Justice Augie’s concerns about corruption provide an opportunity to raise another issue of legitimate public interest: transparency and accountability among former public officeholders, including senior judicial officers.
Nigerians are entitled to expect that public officials will acquire and retain wealth through lawful means. Where credible evidence raises questions about the source of an individual’s assets, the relevant authorities should investigate in accordance with the law.
However, such scrutiny must be evidence-based and must not become a campaign of insinuations against retired judges as a group.
A fair and transparent review of asset declarations, where legally authorised, and investigations into specific allegations of unexplained wealth would help reinforce public confidence. Such measures should apply consistently to serving and retired officials across public institutions, not selectively to individuals who have become politically unpopular.
No retired judge should be presumed guilty merely because of the value of their property. At the same time, no former public official should be considered beyond lawful investigation because of the office once held.
Public service is a responsibility, not a licence for unaccountable privilege.
Judicial Independence Must Go Hand in Hand with Accountability.
Justice Augie also reportedly identified political interference, inadequate funding and delays in judicial proceedings as challenges facing the administration of justice.
These concerns deserve serious consideration. Courts require sufficient resources, competent personnel, efficient procedures and protection from improper pressure to function effectively.
But judicial independence must never be confused with freedom from accountability. Independence protects judges from improper interference in their decisions; it does not protect misconduct from investigation.
Similarly, calls for judicial reform must go beyond speeches at reunions, conferences and public gatherings. They should produce practical recommendations on disciplinary procedures, transparent case management, ethical compliance, financial accountability and the timely delivery of judgments.
The judiciary must be independent enough to decide cases without political pressure and accountable enough to command the trust of the citizens it serves.
Nigerians Deserve Answers, Not Just Warnings
The public has a right to ask difficult questions of people who once occupied positions of great responsibility. That right applies to retired judges, former government officials, senior civil servants and political leaders alike.
Justice Augie’s warning about corruption should therefore lead to a broader national conversation about the history, performance and accountability of the judiciary.
What reforms were pursued during the tenures of senior judicial officers? What obstacles prevented further progress? Which disciplinary measures worked, and which failed? What lessons should serving judicial officers learn from the experiences of their predecessors?
These questions would turn criticism into a constructive contribution to national development.
It is not enough for former officeholders to identify the failures of the present without helping Nigerians understand the decisions, institutional weaknesses and missed opportunities that shaped the past.
Conclusion: Accountability Must Begin With Everyone
The administration of justice is too fundamental to Nigeria’s democracy to be treated as a matter of political convenience or personal reputation.
Justice Amina Adamu Augie is entitled to express concern about corruption in the judiciary, and her allegations and observations deserve consideration on their merits. But the same principle of accountability she advocates must also apply to the history and conduct of those who held senior positions within the institution.
Nigerians need an honest assessment of the past, a credible investigation of present-day allegations and concrete reforms for the future.
The objective should not be to insult a retired judicial officer or dismiss legitimate concerns because they were raised after retirement. It should be to insist that everyone who has exercised public authority remains willing to answer reasonable questions about their stewardship.
If the judiciary is to regain and sustain public confidence, accountability must not begin and end with those currently in office. It must extend, fairly and lawfully, to the institutional record of those who came before them.
That is the standard Nigerians should demand: justice without favouritism, accountability without selective application, and reform supported by evidence rather than rhetoric.
Write by Bala Salihu Dawakin Kudu Analyst and Commentator. Email balasalihudawakinkudu@gmail.com 08060017934.
DemocracyNewslineNewspaper October 19th, 2026
