Prof. Adedayo Afe has called for the urgent rehabilitation of Nigeria’s judicial system through adequate funding to ensure both administrative and financial independence.
Afe, a Professor of Legal History in the Department of History and International Studies at Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), made the call on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, while delivering the University’s 50th Inaugural Lecture titled “The Dynamics of Jurisprudence and Judicial Reforms in Nigeria: The Verdict of History.”
The don identified poor funding as the most significant challenge confronting the nation’s judiciary, leading to a lack of financial autonomy and the gradual decay of infrastructure within the judicial arm of government.
“It is unhealthy, humiliating, and unconstitutional for a Chief Judge, as the head of the court, to approach the Executive begging for funds to carry out the judiciary’s statutory functions,” he said. “Good governance, anchored on the rule of law, will remain a dream if the judiciary is not financially independent.”
Tracing the historical roots of the problem, Prof. Afe noted that the decline of the Nigerian judicial system began with the 1933 reforms introduced by the British colonial authorities. According to him, those reforms were designed not to facilitate justice, but to maintain a stable social order that served colonial interests.
“The colonial authorities merely established a mechanism for a strongly enforced and falsely stable social order that enabled them to accomplish their colonial policies,” he explained.
The Inaugural Lecturer linked the current state of the judiciary to persistent societal challenges, including corruption, weak collaboration between law enforcement and prosecuting agencies, overcrowded correctional centres caused by delayed judgments, and the growing disregard for court orders.
Calling for urgent intervention to “break Nigeria free from the clutches of the endangered judiciary,” Prof. Afe recommended better remuneration and working conditions for judges and magistrates to enhance productivity and reduce corruption. He also stressed the need for administrative independence that would allow the judiciary to decongest prisons and clear the backlog of awaiting-trial cases without seeking Executive approval.
Among his more unconventional recommendations, Prof. Afe proposed that parents or families of convicted criminals be surcharged to contribute to the cost of maintaining such individuals in custody, a measure he believes could promote social responsibility and help curb crime.
“Confinement existed in many Nigerian societies before the advent of the British,” he noted. “It is therefore a monumental waste for the state to spend so much maintaining prisoners, as is presently the case.”
Prof. Afe further urged legal practitioners to desist from unnecessary adjournments and called for accountability among judicial officers.
“Lawyers should not indulge in seeking adjournments unnecessarily. The Bench should not over-pamper the Bar. Judges should send quarterly returns to the Chief Judges, as was the practice before 1976. Those who perform well should be commended, while those who fall short should be reprimanded and this should count toward their promotion,” he said.
To enhance judicial efficiency and reduce delays, the scholar also advocated for the recruitment of more qualified judicial officers.
Earlier in his remarks, the Vice Chancellor and Chairman of the Occasion, Prof. Olugbenga E. Ige, described the 50th Inaugural Lecture as a remarkable milestone in AAUA’s history, lauding Prof. Afe for his distinguished service to the University and his scholarly contributions to historical and legal studies in Nigeria.
