Justice is a mirage in Nigeria – Obono-Obla

The Special Assistant to the president on Prosecution, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has described the legal system in the country as chaotic and clumsy where cases drag on endlessly.  He said the kind of injustice people suffer in Nigeria is heartrending, maintaining that justice is a mirage in the country.  In a public statement when he […]

The Special Assistant to the president on Prosecution, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, has described the legal system in the country as chaotic and clumsy where cases drag on endlessly. 

He said the kind of injustice people suffer in Nigeria is heartrending, maintaining that justice is a mirage in the country. 

In a public statement when he received a letter from the Supreme Court requesting him to forward the list of all his cases both in the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court which have not been listed for hearing, he insisted that the court system must be reformed.   

He narrated a story about a former client of his from Bauchi State, a retired top civil servant, a former deputy governor of the state and former senator, who was wrongly impeached and could not get justice before he died. 

He said the man appealed his impeachment up to the Supreme Court, and was “so anxious to have his name cleared but the Supreme Court was never bothered till the man died and carried the stigma to his grave.” 

Obono-Obla who is a lawyer himself, agreed that lawyers know the truth but were not prepared to rock the boat, yet they would pretend because they do not want to incur the wrath of judges who always victimize those they perceived as bold, progressive and courageous. 

“The lawyers think if they criticize the system judges will not support them when they apply to be SAN or judges or will not even win their cases. But this is wrong. Very soon lawyers will run out of business because people will simply settle scores on their own terms. Nobody wants to go to court again to be bogged down by a chaotic and disorderly court system,” he said.