The African Democratic Congress has criticised the All Progressives Congress over the celebration of the commissioning of residential quarters for judges, describing it as a “shameless, unethical and inappropriate spectacle” capable of eroding public confidence in the independence of the Judiciary.
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In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said while judges deserve decent accommodation, adequate security and proper welfare, such provisions must not be presented as personal achievements of government officials or favours from politicians.
The opposition party said its concern was not the construction of the judges’ quarters, but what it described as the dangerous impression created by the Executive arm of government portraying itself as the benefactor of another constitutionally independent arm of government.
According to the ADC, by giving personal credit to President Bola Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for the project, the APC created the impression that the welfare of judges is subject to “executive benevolence” rather than constitutional entitlement funded by taxpayers.
“The ADC condemns in the strongest terms the APC’s celebration of the commissioning of residential quarters for judges as a shameless, unethical and inappropriate spectacle that further erodes public confidence in the independence of the Judiciary,” the statement read.
“Let it be clearly understood: judges deserve decent accommodation, adequate security and proper welfare. However, these must not be packaged as personal achievements of government officials or as favours from politicians. They are constitutional obligations of government funded by the Nigerian taxpayer.
“The issue is, therefore, not the construction of the quarters in itself, but the dangerous impression of the Executive arm of government presenting itself as the benefactor of another constitutionally independent arm. Neither President Bola Tinubu nor Minister Nyesom Wike is therefore entitled to personal acclaim for discharging responsibilities financed from public funds.”
The ADC argued that the ruling party’s celebration of the project created a troubling appearance that judicial welfare depends on the “whims and caprice” of government officials.
“What the APC has done, by awarding personal acclaim to both the President and his minister for building houses for judges, is to create the impression that the welfare of judges is subject to the whims and caprice of government officials or to executive benevolence,” it added.
The party further described the partisan fanfare surrounding the commissioning of the judges’ quarters as an assault on the principle of separation of powers and an affront to the constitutional ideal of an independent Judiciary.
It warned that public institutions must not be transformed into monuments of political patronage or instruments for cultivating judicial gratitude.
According to the ADC, the Judiciary belongs to Nigerians and not to President Tinubu, the APC or any minister in government. It said the independence of the courts must not be sacrificed on the altar of “political vanity and partisan self-congratulation.”
The party stated that in a constitutional democracy governed by the principle of separation of powers, the Judiciary must not be placed in a position where its welfare is publicly portrayed as a favour granted by political actors whose actions and interests may eventually come before the courts.
“What makes this development particularly troubling is the APC’s attempt to glorify President Tinubu and Minister Wike as patrons of the Judiciary. This action alone creates the unmistakable appearance that judicial welfare is dependent on executive benevolence rather than constitutional entitlement,” the ADC said.
“It sends the wrong signal to Nigerians and inevitably raises legitimate concerns about the proper boundaries between the Executive and the Judiciary.”
The party also rejected what it described as the APC’s attempt to portray the project as part of efforts to strengthen judicial independence, calling the claim an “Orwellian irony.”
It said judicial independence is not measured by the number of buildings commissioned by politicians, but by institutional autonomy, financial independence, security of tenure, freedom from political pressure and public confidence that judges are accountable only to the Constitution and the law.
“In a political climate where election petitions, constitutional disputes and matters involving powerful government officials are routinely determined by the courts, public officials ought to exercise the highest degree of restraint,” the party said.
“They must not position themselves as deserving of judicial gratitude. But, characteristically, APC has chosen to convert a public project into a partisan public relations exercise, thereby undermining the very perception of judicial neutrality that every democracy must zealously protect.”
The ADC urged the Judiciary to be wary of the ethical implications of its relationship with the Executive, noting that the courts are already facing what it described as a serious trust deficit.
It called for greater sensitivity in matters involving judicial welfare, stressing that support for the Judiciary should be institutional, transparent and constitutionally grounded, rather than politicised or personalised.
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