Prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, has expressed profound dismay at what he describes as the “absurdity of illegality and unconstitutionality” pervading governance in Nigeria.
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In a scathing critique, Okutepa accused government authorities of flouting Supreme Court judgments with impunity, undermining the rule of law, and treating judicial decisions as mere decorations rather than binding mandates.
Okutepa’s outrage stems from the persistent appointment of sole administrators to govern local governments, a practice the Supreme Court declared illegal and unconstitutional in multiple rulings, including a landmark decision last year. “The Supreme Court ruled that appointing caretakers for local governments anywhere in Nigeria is illegal,” he stated. “Yet, those who should respect these judgments desecrate them with levity and disdain.”
Citing Section 287 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates that court judgments are binding on all persons and authorities, Okutepa lamented the blatant disregard by government officials. He pointed to Rivers State, where a sole administrator recently appointed administrators for local governments, breaching the Supreme Court’s directive. Even more alarming, he noted, the Federal Government—despite securing a court victory for local government autonomy—has released funds to Rivers State without a budget passed by the State House of Assembly, defying another Supreme Court order.
“The Federal Government went to court for autonomy, yet it’s the same government releasing money to unelected sole administrators,” Okutepa said. “People in power are above the law. They do what they like, not what the law enjoins them to do.”
Okutepa painted a grim picture of Nigeria’s governance, calling it a “one-man business enterprise” marked by “executive rascality” across all three arms of government. “Nigeria is not a democratic state,” he asserted. “It’s a collection of governmental rascality. The executive, legislature, and judiciary are united in a conspiracy to undermine the constitution and good governance.”
He accused the three arms of failing to act as checks and balances, instead reveling in the “absurdities and abnormalities” of governance. “Nobody is genuinely checking each other,” he said. “Institutions of the state have become instruments of perversion, except in a few cases.”
Okutepa reserved sharp criticism for the judiciary, expressing frustration at its apparent indifference to the disrespect of its rulings. “The judiciary is just there. It’s not angry about the treatment it’s getting,” he remarked. “Yet, this same judiciary gives favorable judgments to those who scorn its decisions.”
He warned that judicial decisions in high-profile cases are compounding problems rather than solving them, dashing the hopes of ordinary Nigerians. “Judgments should solve problems, not complicate them,” he stressed.
Describing the appointment of sole administrators as a “conspiracy to provoke Nigerians,” Okutepa labeled those in power as “despots masquerading as democrats.” He argued that their actions betray a lack of love for democracy, despite their public rhetoric. “If a government treasures appointing sole administrators, we are heading to hell,” he cautioned.
Okutepa called for urgent action to restore constitutional order, urging those in charge to remedy the systemic rot rather than silencing critics or seeking scapegoats. “Nobody is ready to fix the wrongs,” he said. “They’re intolerant of the truth and enjoy breaching the law.”
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