Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has delivered a scathing critique of Nigeria’s political and legal order, warning that the country is drifting deeper into lawlessness where constitutional violations are rewarded and accountability is virtually nonexistent.
In a strongly worded post shared on his verified X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday, Okutepa said Nigeria has reached a point where “there are no consequences for gross misbehavior and misconduct,” particularly among those who wield political power.
“In Nigeria, there are no consequences for gross misbehavior and misconduct,” Okutepa wrote. “Those who found their ways to power do what they like and have no respect and regards for law and the constitution. Rule of law exists in theory. The powerful have no respect for law and order.”
The senior lawyer accused political elites of openly breaching the Constitution and being rewarded rather than sanctioned, citing the persistent practice of cross-carpeting by lawmakers despite its constitutional prohibition.
“Those who breached the Nigerian constitution get rewarded, and they, in most cases, get away with it,” he said. “Despite the express prohibition of cross carpeting of members of Parliament, some of these law breakers cross carpet with such audacity of arrogance and nothing happens to them.”
According to Okutepa, Nigeria’s major political parties are complicit in these constitutional violations, benefiting from and sustaining what he described as “constitutional iniquities.”
“The major political parties in Nigeria are promoters and supporters of these constitutional iniquities. They benefit from it,” he stated, noting that several lawmakers currently sit in the National Assembly on platforms different from the parties that sponsored their elections.
He further alleged that some individuals who violated the Constitution went on to become governors without facing any consequences.
“Some of these members of Parliament remained in the iniquities of the constitution and get rewarded with the offices of Governors. Still, nothing happens,” Okutepa said. “Nigerian politicians make mockery of the constitution, and nothing happens.”
Referencing the political crisis in Rivers State, the SAN said lawmakers involved in controversial defections were emboldened by the certainty that no sanctions would follow.
“When 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly decided to leave the political party upon which they rode to the Assembly, even when there was no division known to law, they were sure nothing would happen,” he said. “They even got judicial backing. Now some of them have cross carpeted again. Nothing will happen.”
Okutepa described the situation as a national tragedy, arguing that ordinary Nigerians suffer humiliation and injustice while political elites enjoy protection.
“These are the absurdities of Nigeria’s situation,” he wrote. “Nigerians are putting up with the most abhorable and intolerable misconduct as if these are normal conduct.”
He added that the country’s global image has suffered as a result, recounting a personal experience involving alleged poor treatment by Qatar Airways, which he attributed to the negative perception of Nigerians abroad.
“Comity of nations look at Nigerians as if we are all rogues,” he said. “The decent Nigerians suffer terrible trauma.”
The senior advocate also criticised the judiciary, saying courts in Nigeria often fail to provide remedies for constitutional and statutory violations.
“Courts were created to give remedies to victims of constitutional and statutory sacrilegious misconduct. But not in Nigeria,” he said. “Remedies are hardly obtainable in courts.”
Okutepa concluded by lamenting what he described as the collapse of democracy and the entrenchment of despotism, warning that leadership driven by arrogance and illegality would eventually collapse.
“Nigeria is in a despotic state. Democracy is far from the Nigerian state,” he said. “Any structure erected on sandy grounds of illegality must crack and then crash.”
Invoking a biblical analogy, he added: “Those who act as emperors in democracy and think they are alpha and omega must learn lessons from Nebuchadnezzar.”
Despite his grim assessment, Okutepa expressed hope for the future, declaring: “Nigerians shall be freed one day.”
