Questions over judiciary’s independence ahead 2027

By Godwin Tsa, Abuja
For close to two years, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration has invested heavily in Nigeria’s judiciary. New court complexes, judges’ quarters, an office annex for the Body of Benchers, and a promised home ownership scheme for retiring judges have all featured in the programme. On the surface, it looks like a straightforward good. A chronically underfunded arm of government is finally receiving physical infrastructure it has needed for decades. Yet the initiative has become one of the most contentious governance debates of the administration’s tenure. It pits the belief that welfare strengthens independence against the fear that it actually buys it.
The...