₦airaland Forum

Dele Farotimi: How a Failed Judiciary Triggered the Nigerian Civil War

By: Deji Yesufu

Obafemi Awolowo explains in his writing that British rule was not entirely negative. Before the coming of the white man, for instance, most of Yoruba land was at war with each other. When the British eventually integrated the many warring factions and created a modern nation-state which would ultimately be called Nigeria, they did this solely on some specific laws. The white man, Awolowo would learn with time and did not take documentation lightly. Whatever is written carries weight. This was why the first set of people the British began to take issues with were those who criticized the British government through their writings. The highest form of documentation for the British was the nation's laws. They understood that the law was blind and that the same law that stood against you today, could work for you tomorrow. Therefore, the British always obeyed the injunctions of the courts of law.

Between 1921 and 1928, two celebrated legal disputes pitched Herbert Macaulay against the British rulers of Nigeria, which eventually propelled Macaulay to celebrity status. In 1921, Herbert’s Macaulay supported Chief Amodu Tijani against the government of the day. Tijani had argued in the Nigerian Supreme Court that he was to be compensated for land in Apapa (Lagos) that the government had forcibly taken from his family. The Supreme Court ruled against him, but Tijani took his case to the British Privy Council, a body of legal luminaries, whose decisions were respected in the British Commonwealth. The Privy Council overturned the ruling of the Nigerian Supreme Court and Tijani got compensation for his land. 1928, Macaulay supported Echugbayi Ekeko, the king of Lagos, against the British government in Lagos. The government had deposed Eleko and installed Akintoye. Macaulay joined Eleko in his trip to London to argue his case, again, at the Privy Council. The Privy Council weighed the matter and ruled in favour of the Eleko. Macaulay returned to Nigeria a hero.

As the British departed the shores of Nigeria in 1960, the first thing that suffered was our nation’s commitment to the rule of law. The resultant effect of it all was that the country experienced a bloody thirty-month civil war that ended exactly one decade after the staff of government had been handed to us by the British. A lot of things could be said to have contributed to the start of the civil war, but the contributions of the judiciary can not be overlooked. In less than two years after independence, the ruling party in the Western Region, the Action Group, found itself in an imbroglio – the party had expelled Chief Ladoke Akintola, who was the Premier of the region. The party was convinced that Akintola along with a few people in his caucus, were no longer following party guidelines for the development of the Western Region. Obafemi Awolowo, the leader of the party and also the leader of the opposition in the Federal Parliament in Lagos, had been unable to get the cooperation of Akintola – his erstwhile deputy.

The government of Tafawa Balewa stepped into the matter and declared a state of emergency in western Nigeria in 1962. The matter was taken to a Nigerian court which ruled in favor of Akintola. Akintola was restored to office based on this ruling, but the Action Group took the case to the British Privy Council, which acted as a court system higher than even the Nigerian Supreme Court then. The Privy Court dismissed the ruling of the Nigerian court and declared the Action Group to be in the right. The government of Akintola was declared illegal, and Chief Adegbenro of the Action Group was declared the lawful Premier of the Western Region. The Balewa government rejected the Privy Council ruling, declaring that Nigeria was now an independent country and no longer bound to obey the British. That singular action ended all appeals to the Privy Council in Nigeria.

At about the time the country was rejecting British lawful counsel, a young man by the name of Chukwuma “Kaduna” Nzeogwu had just been appointed the first military intelligence officer in the Nigerian army. Nzeogwu had been trained by the military in the prestigious Sandhurst military academy in England and was appointed to head the army’s intelligence unit in Lagos. Nzeogwu was a conscientious person who detested oppression. He had imbibed socialist ideas while in England, and was convinced that these ideas could change Nigeria and the whole of Africa. As a military man, he had the option of carrying out his revolutionary thoughts using weapons. He hoped to bring positive change to Nigeria, and then head to South Africa to overthrow the apartheid government of that time. Nzeogwu, via his work at the intelligence office, had access to classified information and could tell that the government of the day was persecuting Awolowo – a man whose socialist ideas he shared. It was at this time that Nzeogwu met up with Ifeanyi Ifeajuna and Adewale Ademoyega to hatch a plan to violently overthrow the government of the day. When peaceful means of change and development are rejected by a people, violent means become inevitable. I am arguing here that the seeds that set the tone towards the Nigerian civil war were a brazen rejection of the country’s laws by the Nigerian ruling class in the first republic.

____________

These thoughts bring me back to Dele Farotimi and his book “Nigeria and Its Criminal Justice System”. You will be living on Mars if you believe that Nigeria has a functional justice system. Farotimi may have exaggerated his point by stating that the nation’s judiciary was criminal. However, we all know that the best way to make a point is to employ something of hyperbole in our words, and this is what Farotimi has done. What is abundantly clear with the Nigerian judiciary is that money talks; the poor and ordinary man cannot argue a case on its merit alone – you must be able to back up your claim with money. Most people who run foul of the law in this country, and go to jail, are usually persons who don’t have money or don’t know somebody – or both. No nation can move forward where there is a brazen disregard for the law. How many times has the government refused to obey court orders in Nigeria? It appears that the government operate by its own rules, and only obeys court orders that suit them.

Now, whichever way Dele Farotimi’s case goes, the man would remain a winner. His book is shedding light on a fundamental problem in this country. And whether he wins or loses his case, we all know now that there are fundamental problems with the judiciary that must be fixed ASAP. Another thing we must keep in mind is that Farotimi is a continuation of the #ENDSARS revolution. What #ENDSARS failed at achieving, this Farotimi case will succeed at. By helping Nigerians rethink the trouble in this country, hopefully, we will find workable solutions.

I have provided the civil war twist to this matter to warn us in this country: the things that drown a country in perdition are usually little things. Top on that list are brazen disregard for the rule of law; cheating the weak; stealing from the poor; and disobeying court injunctions. Dele Farotimi, in one book, has provided this country with a synopsis of her problems. We will avoid greater trouble by attending to the issues raised in the book, rather than crucifying the prophet God is using to speak for the betterment of the country.

Deji Yesufu is the Pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY.

Source

https://www.youtube.com/live/2cvzS8YyEVw?si=9rnFIHqxYTNsSXxG

Hmmm

OkCornel:
Hmmm

Yeah...

Thank u to whomever brainstormed on this all-important discuss.
The poor need justice,the needy need justice and those whose land and properties have been confiscated illegally need justice.

I wonder why the poor and needy out of ignorance are supporting those who are killing them?

Thanking u in a big way.

ibechris:
Thank u to whomever brainstormed on this all-important discuss.
The poor need justice,the needy need justice and those whose land and properties have been confiscated illegally need justice.

I wonder why the poor and needy out of ignorance are supporting those who are killing them?

Thanking u in a big way.

The law that govern a land should be blind...

They are trying to kill that good spirit in Dele farotimi They are trying to kill that good spirit in Dele farotimi. People like Dele usually come from affluent and educated backgrounds but became uncomfortable when they see the injustice against the poor and the start fighting, that’s what real civil rights leaders are made of which are very rare nowadays with the level of selfishness in today’s world. I missed the old days of real civil rights activists in Nigeria..Isreal Ransome Kuti family, his wife Olufummilayo Ransome Kuti led several protests against injustice and was thrown down from a 2 storey building by a military junta in 1977 for that but she survived it , Fela her child continued the same fight by using his music to fight for Justice and equality, same with his brother Beko , then Gani Fawehimi (SAN) of blessed memory used Law for same, Dare Babarinsa former editor at now defunct Tell magazine etc then juxtapose this glorious generation side by side with Tinubu arrangee fake civil rights activists like the Odumakin couple, tunde bakare, the Fulani lady that later accepted appointment at NPA under buhari, Professor Wole Soyinka etc then you will be able to understand what is wrong with Nigeria

rinzaugustine:
They are trying to kill that good spirit in Dele farotimi

They will fail...

I get the point you are trying to make and you are correct on it but I actually support the action of the of the Balewa government in ignoring the judgment of British court as that would made us their puppet (though we still ended up being one).

The judiciary/justice system is exactly the problem of Nigeria.

You cannot have peace without justice.

VBCampaign:
The law that govern a land should be blind...

It predates even the Roman Empire and it came as a result of finding out over the years that you can find yourself at either end of the law depending on the circumstances and that if it is not blind, you will continue to shift goal posts to be in your favor until the disorderliness leads to societal breakdown of Law and Order

Farotimi is a rare yoruba

The moment Nigeria became and independent state the ruling of the British privy council stopped being relevant in Nigeria,the Nigerian supreme Court ruled in favor of akintola and that's the final ruling.

I don't think there will be any winners in the case. I mean, Dele wrote this book in 2021, I heard him talk about it and there was no attention until 2024. What the case will do will be beyond what the politicians expected. Why?

The judiciary has played a strong role in our democracy since 1999 and some have questioned its decisions. However, in finding legitimacy is what makes some politicians say, GO TO COURT. Most of us focus on Presidential elections but have we noticed that only the 2015 election did not go to court?

What this case will do is to put pressure more than ever on the judiciary and politicians expecting to get legitimacy from them will be disappointed because the more political class tries to rob yhe judiciary of its independence, the more people will hate it.

The house must reform itself. They may be collateral damage when Nigerians are ready for their politicians.

Multipurple:
I get the point you are trying to make and you are correct on it but I actually support the action of the of the Balewa government in ignoring the judgment of British court as that would made us their puppet (though we still ended up being one).

The judiciary/justice system is exactly the problem of Nigeria.

You cannot have peace without justice.

Balewa cannot come to government and do something other than others have been doing.

What has made the country functional up till that time were laws that even the British obeyed.

Is it any wonder that governments of today flaunt court orders with reckless abandon? It began with him.

And, beware of what you wish. Balewa paid for all this with his very life.

Blazebond:
The moment Nigeria became and independent state the ruling of the British privy council stopped being relevant in Nigeria,the Nigerian supreme Court ruled in favor of akintola and that's the final ruling.

That is not true.

The Privy Council served all Commonwealth nations. Our Supreme Court had long existed, and the Privy Council always over ruled them. Why not then, again?

A lawyer told me that the reason why you can get one judgement in Lagos State from a High court and your opponent goes to Birnin-Kudu high court to get another Judgement on the same matter, is because the high court judge in Birnin-Kudu is aware money was paid to the Lagos Judge.

Therefore, he will give his own judgement, injunction or ruling on the same matter, so as to collect his own largesse from politicians.

The Judiciary is rotten and there will be more exposé going forward starting from CJN. All the evil they did in the dark will come to light soon.

Dalohad:
A lawyer told me that the reason why you can get one judgement in Lagos State from a High court and your opponent goes to Birmingham Kudu and get another Judgement from another High court on the same matters, is because the high court judge in Birnin-Kudu is aware money was paid to the Lagos Judge. Therefore, he will give his own judgement, injunction or ruling on the same matter collect his own largesse from politicians.

The Judiciary is rotten and there will be more exposé going forward starting from CJN. All the evil they did in the dark will come to light soon.

Pure and simple!

And talking about obeying laws, from this writeup we should thus urge the FG to release Nnamdi Kanu if the court says they should.

The consequences of any hazard with him might lead to crisis like what happened in the past.

And from this post its obvious the coup plotters in 1966 never had an agenda to promote Igbo supremacy but were purely focused on redirecting the path of the nation.

For Mr Dele he has already left an indelible mark in the sands of time.

He now has a name..

kingceejay:
And talking about obeying laws, from this writeup we should thus urge the FG to release Nnamdi Kanu if the court says they should.

The consequences of any hazard with him might lead to crisis like what happened in the past.

And from this post its obvious the coup plotters in 1966 never had an agenda to promote Igbo supremacy but were purely focused on redirecting the path of the nation.

For Mr Dele he has already left an indelible mark in the sands of time.

He now has a name..

Yes

A response to this article by a reader:

Your article, How a Failed Judiciary Triggered the Nigerian Civil War, invites the reader into a profound contemplation of Nigeria’s judicial history, tracing the origins of systemic decay back to both colonial and post-colonial circumstances. There is an inherent wisdom in your recognition of the intertwining between legal history and national identity, and the reflections on figures such as Macaulay and Nzeogwu anchor your argument with depth and context. This is a commendable philosophical move, as it demonstrates that the current state of the judiciary cannot be understood without a broader consideration of its historical evolution.

Yet, like any critical work, its strengths lie not only in the questions it asks but also in how it responds to them. In this spirit, I offer the following considerations from my own philosophical standpoint and without prejudice.

1. Overgeneralization: Your description of the judiciary as “criminal” strikes me as a bold and impassioned critique, but it runs the risk of obscuring the complexity of the issue. While the failures of the system are undeniable, a more nuanced exploration of its moments of integrity and legal resistance could enrich your analysis. In this, you would echo the philosophy of Hegel, who recognized the dialectic between moments of injustice and the striving toward justice. A recognition of the judiciary’s potential for reform would reinforce your critique without sacrificing its severity.

2. Causal Relationships: The nexus you propose between judicial failure and the Nigerian Civil War is thought-provoking, but the narrative could be expanded to consider the multiplicity of forces at play—ethnic tensions, political divisions, and economic challenges—each of which plays its part in the broader tapestry of Nigeria’s history. This would align your argument with the dialectical method of Marx, who argued that historical events are rarely the result of a single cause but emerge from the interplay of multiple, often conflicting, forces.

3. Absence of Prescriptions: Your essay illuminates the judiciary’s failures, but leaves us with the existential question: What now? A philosophical critique, no matter how profound, is always made richer by a vision of transformation. Proposals for judicial reforms, whether through institutional independence or broader public engagement, would move your argument from critique to constructive possibility, echoing the vision of thinkers like Rawls, who saw the need for both critique and the design of a fairer system.

4. Evidence and Data: To elevate your reflections from compelling narrative to a broader philosophical discourse, one might consider introducing comparative analysis—drawing on examples of other post-colonial societies or contemporary judicial systems. The inclusion of empirical data would allow the reader to ground your reflections in something more substantial than the merely philosophical, and might invite a dialogue between theory and practice.

In conclusion, your piece acts as both a critique and a call to action. It challenges the reader to reconsider not only the judiciary’s failures but also the very structures that allow such failures to persist. By expanding on these suggestions, your work might evolve into an even more compelling philosophical inquiry into the nature of law, justice, and social transformation.

Warm regards

- Adeola Adeniyi

VBCampaign:
That is not true.

The Privy Council served all Commonwealth nations. Our Supreme Court had long existed, and the Privy Council always over ruled them. Why not then, again?

The what makes you independent if you are still answerable to them?

Multipurple:
The what makes you independent if you are still answerable to them?

We cannot genuinely claim independence to a system and document we just received, and for which we have benefited from.

I'll tell you this, if the judgement had favored Balewa, they would still have stuck to the Privy Council.

Such appeals were not cheap, nor were they frivolous. The state of the nation's peace dependent on it.

If Akintola had been removed, Nigeria would never have gone to war.

Law determines peace and prosperity. Lawlessness is the mother of chaos.

Seun, I believe this thread would add to constructive public discuss on this subject

Helinues will disagree with this man from the SW becaus he is not a muslim, he is not speaking against our neigbours from the East

This man is an embodiment of the omoluabi spirit who knows his identity, culture , education when compared to a drug dealer

DatNiggaDaz:
***** will disagree with this man from the SW becaus he is not a muslim, he is not speaking against our neigbours from the East

This man is an embodiment of the omoluabi spirit who knoiws his identity, culture , education when compared to a drug dealer

You are the one that is calling on hyenas to come and mess up this beautiful thread now. These are intelligent people here having good discussion and sound arguments, please don't derail this beautiful thread I beg you.

Guess I have to buy this book.

Who is this man?
See his office

VBCampaign:
We cannot genuinely claim independence to a system and document we just received, and for which we have benefited from.

I'll tell you this, if the judgement had favored Balewa, they would still have stuck to the Privy Council.

Such appeals were not cheap, nor were they frivolous. The state of the nation's peace dependent on it.

If Akintola had been removed, Nigeria would never have gone to war.

Law determines peace and prosperity. Lawlessness is the mother of chaos.

What are trying to say? Weren't America colonized by the same people? Is America the independent today or not? It is the choice of our leaders otherwise we can be truly independent. And you cannot say it was because of that judgment that the war came, that part of the story is just somebody's perspective, every military coup based on selfish ambition.

Multipurple:
What are trying to say? Weren't America colonized by the same people? Is America the independent today or not? It is the choice of our leaders otherwise we can be truly independent. And you cannot say it was because of that judgment that the war came, that part of the story is just somebody's perspective, every military coup based on selfish ambition.

... I agree it is the writer's perspective and I agree with it. Peace is always worth it. And laws promote peace.

descarado:
Guess I have to buy this book.

Who is this man?
See his office

This will be a Bookshop. He autographed books for sale

This people don't get it.
Farotimi wasn't the first to claim that the Nigeria judiciary is corrupt.
In fact, I don't think you can find a single Nigeria that would claim otherwise.
But Dele is not on trial for stating that the Nigerian judiciary is corrupt but for
assuming that the opponent he lost a case to must have bribed judges.

He even went further by stating the names of the alleged bribe givers and receivers
even though he has zero evidence other than the fact that he lost a land legal tussle.

Xisnin:
This people don't get it.
Farotimi wasn't the first to claim that the Nigeria judiciary is corrupt.
In fact, I don't think you can find a single Nigeria that would claim otherwise.
But Dele is not on trial for stating that the Nigerian judiciary is corrupt but for
assuming that the opponent he lost a case to must have bribed judges.

He even went further by stating the names of the alleged bribe givers and receivers
even though he has zero evidence other than the fact that he lost a land legal tussle.

Dele understood what he was getting into. The problem is not absence of evidence. The problem is whether the evidence available will convince a criminal judiciary.

VBCampaign:
Dele understood what he was getting into. The problem is not absence of evidence. The problem is whether the evidence available will convince a criminal judiciary.

The evidence doesn't exist.
Mind you, there is what is considered an admissible evidence in any country
with civil judiciary.
Hearsay like: I heard from Mr. B that Mr. A did it is not an evidence unless you can get Mr. A
to give credible testimony on your behalf.

Dele has won many cases for his clients under the same "criminal judiciary".
I am wondering how he won and how much he must have paid in bribe to get such favorable judgments.

Interestingly, he never talked about those instances where he won.
Only when he loses does he conclude that his opponents must have bribed judges.

Xisnin:
The evidence doesn't exist.
Mind you, there is what is considered an admissible evidence in any country
with civil judiciary.
Hearsay like: I heard from Mr. B that Mr. A did it is not an evidence unless you can get Mr. A
to give credible testimony on your behalf.

Dele has won many cases for his clients under the same "criminal judiciary".
I am wondering how he won and how much he must have paid in bribe to get such favorable judgments.

Interestingly, he never talked about those instances where he won.
Only when he loses does he conclude that his opponents must have bribed judges.

We will see how it plays out