Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Jibrin Okutepa, has launched a scathing criticism of Nigeria’s political class, declaring that most politicians in the country deserve prison rather than public office, as he accused them of pursuing selfish interests at the expense of ordinary citizens.
Okutepa made the remarks in a post shared on his X account, where he questioned the motive behind the ongoing political realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that Nigerian politicians were more interested in sharing power among themselves than serving the people.
“In whose interest are Nigerian politicians realigning themselves politically? Is it in the interests of Nigerians or in their selfish interests?” he asked.
“Nigerian politicians are not quarrelling or fighting for the interests of the people. No, it isn’t about the people. It is about how they want to share power with themselves and impoverished Nigerians.”
The legal luminary lamented that the Nigerian political system had become disconnected from the masses, stressing that the people were no longer central to governance or political calculations.
“People are not in the political equation of Nigerian politics and politicians. I have not seen manifestos and programmes of these political parties that have the people at heart,” he said.
“As a matter of fact, if democracy is truly practiced in the country, most politicians will be rotting in jail. Most of these politicians will not win even ward elections.”
He accused the political elite of impoverishing the country and weaponising poverty as a tool for manipulation, saying many Nigerians now sell their votes because hunger has stripped them of real democratic freedom.
“The politicians of today in Nigeria have strangulated Nigeria and we have not seen their impact in terms of development and growth. The country is bleeding. Ordinary citizens are in hell,” Okutepa stated.
“Yet we the people cannot come together because politicians and political class have weaponised poverty as a tool to play divisive politics. Today many sell their freedoms because of hunger and poverty. That is why people can take as low as N1,000 to sell their votes.”
Okutepa further argued that electoral sovereignty no longer belongs to the people, claiming that political godfathers and power brokers determine who gets elected, regardless of public preference.
“In Nigeria, power is snatched even from those the people want and then handed over to those the godfathers want. That is why accountability in governance is zero,” he said.
“There are no consequences for democratic misbehaviour in Nigeria. Laws do not work. It is the will of those in power that holds sway over the laws of the land.”
He also criticised the abuse of the judicial system by politicians, accusing them of flooding the courts with political disputes that do not fall within constitutionally recognised electoral matters.
“Most Nigerian politicians who do not mean well for this country have allowed themselves to be used to file cases that do not fall within the justiciable disputes as permitted by the Electoral Acts and the 1999 Constitution,” he stated.
According to him, many politicians were willing to destroy their own political parties for personal gain and selfish ambition.
“To show the selfishness of some of these politicians, they are ready and prepared to be used to destroy their own political parties for their selfish commercial interests,” he said.
“Today many sell their souls to the devil to cause chaos and confusion in the interests of their paid masters. The masses are not in their equations. That is the sad reality of democracy in Nigeria.”
Okutepa concluded by urging politicians to put the interests of Nigerians first, warning that continued self-serving politics would only deepen the nation’s democratic and economic crisis.
