The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has said that the Nigeria’s judiciary no longer serve the common man but politicians and other influential people in the country.
Mr Fagbemi made the assertion on Thursday, 4th July, 2024 during the groundbreaking N37 billion construction of the Abuja Division of the Appeal Court Complex at Daki-Biyu, by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The AGF said, “Gone were those days when the judiciary was regarded as the last hope of the common man. I take objection to it. It is the big people now who patronise the judiciary, not even the common man. If you have any doubt, when election is approaching, come and see the way, with all due respect, some people behave like rain-beaten chickens.
“Forgive me, I don’t mean to be rude. So, the judiciary is no longer the last hope of the common man alone, it is also, or majorly now, the last hope of the big shots.”
The FCT minister had at the ceremony said that President Bola Tinubu, approved N30 billion of the N37 billion in the 2024 budget, for the structure which he promised to deliver by September 2025.
However, despite Mr Fagbemi’s submission about the judiciary, he expressed hope that the complex would be for truth exposure and protection of people’s rights.
Other speakers at the groundbreaking event include the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola; President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem; President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau, among others.
