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HURIWA: Tinubu’s Control Of Judiciary And Legislature Driving Nigeria Towards Dictatorship
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of presiding over an incipient dictatorship in which the executive has captured the judiciary and legislature, rendering both arms of government impotent and subservient.
In a blistering statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the association said Nigeria is “on the brink of democratic annihilation” as judicial independence collapses under the watch of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, and the National Assembly degenerates into a political annex of the Presidency.
In a statement by the body’s National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said, “The Nigerian judiciary under the current CJN has been reduced to a timid, corrupt, and compromised shadow of itself, incapable of delivering justice in any matter that affects President Tinubu or his political cronies,” HURIWA declared.
It added: “The National Judicial Council (NJC) is now a polluted sanctuary of inefficiency and poor governance standards, with its leadership firmly on the side of the President and the All Progressives Congress (APC).”
The group cited the political clout of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike, who, it alleged, has enjoyed an unbroken string of judicial victories under the current dispensation through “suspected insider compromises, unethical collusion, and abuse of judicial influence” in the Federal High Court, Court of Appeal, and Supreme Court.
HURIWA described as a “national embarrassment” the Supreme Court’s refusal to even fix a hearing date for the suit challenging the “illegal and unconstitutional” suspension of the Rivers State governor.
According to the group, the governor ultimately backed down because he knew the courts, already captured by the Executive and its allies, would never grant him justice.
The rights group also pointed to several post-2023 judicial outcomes that, in its view, have deepened public distrust in the legal system.
It cited the Plateau State governorship dispute, where the Court of Appeal nullified the election of Governor Caleb Mutfwang of the PDP on grounds widely criticised as inconsistent with established legal precedents, only for the Supreme Court to reverse the decision.
It also referenced the Kano governorship case, where judgments swung back and forth in a manner that many Nigerians interpreted as the result of political bargaining rather than strict application of the law.
Furthermore, it recalled the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal proceedings, in which despite glaring irregularities cited by petitioners, both the tribunal and the Supreme Court upheld Tinubu’s election — a decision that many political observers allege was predetermined through high-level compromises.
“Since the 2023 elections, the Appeal Court and Supreme Court have been associated with a spate of alleged bribery-induced judgments in politically sensitive cases, especially those involving holders of executive offices,” HURIWA alleged. “These are judicial robberies dressed in legal robes.”
Quoting respected human rights advocate, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the association noted the Nigerian judiciary has become a “bazaar of justice” where verdicts can be purchased, and that the CJN’s failure to discipline erring judges is a direct violation of constitutional provisions and the code of conduct for judicial officers.
HURIWA also reminded Nigerians of the controversy surrounding Justice Kekere-Ekun’s tenure in the Supreme Court, noting reports that she was barred from entering the United States following her role in the infamous 2020 judgment that installed Senator Hope Uzodinma as governor of Imo State from fourth place — a verdict globally condemned as a “crooked judicial coup.”
Turning to the legislature, the association accused the 10th National Assembly of “openly advertising its subservience to President Tinubu.”
It cited Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s public statement, “I was not elected to fight Tinubu,” as emblematic of a legislature that has abandoned its constitutional duty of oversight.
From its inception, HURIWA alleged, Tinubu handpicked Akpabio as Senate President and Tajudeen Abbas as Speaker of the House of Representatives, using brazen political engineering, inducements, and intimidation to ensure their emergence.
The result, it said, is a legislature that rubber-stamps presidential wishes without debate, scrutiny, or opposition.
The association also highlighted the disturbing trend of lawmakers and governors from opposition parties defecting to the APC under alleged threats of anti-graft probes or direct financial inducements from the Presidency.
In HURIWA’s view, the National Assembly has been transformed into an extension of the Executive arm, in violation of Section 4 of the Constitution, which vests legislative powers in an independent legislature.
According to the rights group, these trends are classic hallmarks of state capture — a situation in which a ruling elite controls key state institutions to serve private interests at the expense of the public.
“If this descent into one-man rule is not halted, Nigeria will wake up to find its democracy dead and buried,” HURIWA warned. “The people, robbed of justice and representation, may resort to stoning corrupt judges and repudiating a political class that survives only on bribery and judicial manipulation.”
The association called for urgent reforms, including the immediate sanitisation of the NJC, disciplinary action against compromised judicial officers, and the restoration of genuine separation of powers.
It also urged the international community to place visa bans on judges and politicians involved in subverting democracy.
HURIWA concluded with a stark warning: “Every day that this executive capture of the judiciary and legislature is allowed to stand is another day closer to full-blown tyranny in Nigeria.”
