The Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy has called on two prominent Nigerian lawyers, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu and Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, to stop publicly criticizing the judiciary, particularly the judges involved in recent Edo and Rivers States rulings.
The group, speaking through its Head of Legal Services, Mr. Kalu Kalu Agu, expressed concern over the unprofessional nature of their actions, urging legal bodies, including the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to address these alleged attacks.
According to Agu, the public disparagement of the judiciary undermines the rule of law and public trust in Nigeria’s legal system. He emphasized that grievances with court decisions should be handled through legal processes rather than public insults against judges.
Agu also acknowledged that while freedom of speech is a fundamental right, it is unethical for lawyers to drag the judiciary into disrepute after unfavourable court rulings.
He urged the NBA to protect the judiciary’s integrity and sanction any lawyer who crosses the line, stating, “Judges must remain impartial and silent, even in the face of unfair attacks.”
The group believes that these verbal assaults harm individual judges and erode confidence in the judiciary as an institution.
Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, and Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, a serving House of Representatives member, have been vocal about their discontent with recent court rulings, leading to this public rebuke by the Centre for Reform and Public Advocacy.
The call for discipline from the legal community aims to curb what the group sees as increasing incidences of lawyers publicly disparaging judges after losing cases, thereby threatening the credibility of Nigeria’s judicial system.
