₦airaland Forum

The Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, has expressed deep concerns over the rising number of complaints against senior lawyers in Nigeria.

Speaking at a special court session to mark the beginning of the Supreme Court's 2025/2026 Legal Year and the inauguration of 57 senior advocates of Nigeria (SANs), Fagbemi lamented the rot in the Nigeria judiciary.

Fagbemi revealed that his office has been receiving several complaints against senior members of the bar, bordering on professional misconduct.

"My office has, in recent times, taken note of the increasing number of complaints against senior members of the bar," he said. "Thankfully, these are few and far between, but they still constitute such numbers as to be troubling."

The AGF also called for transparency in the judiciary, expressing concerns over adverse ratings and negative perception indexes of the judiciary.

"It is quite concerning to see the adverse ratings and negative perception indexes of our Judiciary," he said.

"Public confidence in the judiciary has been shaken by perceptions of undue influence, inconsistent rulings, and delays that frustrate justice."

Fagbemi emphasised the need for the judiciary to be principled, independent, and impartial, delivering justice transparently, consistently, and with intellectual rigor.

"It is therefore the responsibility of everyone present here and beyond to ensure that, like Caesar's wife, the judiciary is above reproach and suspicion," he said.

The AGF's remarks highlight the need for reforms in the Nigeria judiciary to restore public confidence and ensure that justice is delivered fairly and transparently.

ogododo:
https://saharareporters.com/2025/10/01/attorney-general-fagbemi-laments-rot-nigerian-judiciary-reveals-plans-probe-senior

ogododo:
https://saharareporters.com/2025/10/01/attorney-general-fagbemi-laments-rot-nigerian-judiciary-reveals-plans-probe-senior

Divinedovey:
The news sounds good but as far as this is a Tinubu's appointee, I suspect a fowl move to silence some critics.

This is the same AGF who supported

buckeyemedia:
Very funny, please if dey gree give u visa, come Yankee come see wetin DJ Trump dey do with the judiciary, u go no say Tinubu still dey primary school.

Gab1976:
Lateef are you free from this corruption we all are saying here.

qtx:
You are talking now, but your principal is busy doling out houses, salary increments, and other gifts to them. Are you sure you are not just diverting our attention for the sake of the 2027 election?

peculiar2233:
Oga sharap there 🤫
Are you not part of the rotten system?
We no even know if nah politician you be or AGF self

ogmask:
Can you mention one court case Trump influenced as an ordinary citizen and as president of the USA? The much I know is he goes to court on the invitation of the democrats for things ha is legally empowered by the Constitution.



Imagine Lateef blaming the bar when our real problem is with the bench. Wike is busy building houses for judges yet the man nor see that one. Btw, is this not same Lateef who advised tinubu to shi.t on our Constitution with fubara matter?



Nor mind am jare



Hahahhahahahahaa

ogododo:
https://saharareporters.com/2025/10/01/attorney-general-fagbemi-laments-rot-nigerian-judiciary-reveals-plans-probe-senior

peculiar2233:
Oga sharap there 🤫
Are you not part of the rotten system?
We no even know if nah politician you be or AGF self

FreeStuffsNG:
Chief Ozekhome was actually mentioned. I am surprised that saharareporters.com removed the name specifically mentioned by the AGF. Smh.

He will pontificate on Nigeria in a manner that will shock you when you read the kind of serious question the AGF raises on his conduct lambasted by the English Judge.


In the case Mr Fagbemi referenced on Monday, a judge of an English property tribunal, Ewan Paton, delivered a ruling on 11 September blocking an audacious move by Mr Ozekhome, a prominent Nigerian lawyer and SAN, to take ownership of a house in North London.

The judge said the case was built on a network of fraud, impersonation, and forged documents.

He found that Mr Ozekhome’s defence, supported by his son, amounted to a “contrived story… invented in an attempt to provide a plausible reason” for the transfer of the property to Mr Ozekhome in 2021.

While blocking Mr Ozekhome from taking over the property, the judge also struck out Mr Ozekhome’s adversary’s claims, describing them as an abuse of judicial process.

Mr Fagbemi said on Monday that the London case “stands out in recent memory” and “bears sadly” on the integrity of the Nigerian legal profession.

“It bears sadly on the high esteem and integrity that our noble profession commands as a sine qua non for our collective commitment and investment in the legal brand. I am referring to the recent decision (11th September 2025) of an English property tribunal, by Judge Ewan Paton.

“It will be remiss of me not to bring such an egregious development to the attention of my lords, in the hope that it is addressed frontally against the backdrop of the hallowed rules that guard and define the finest traditions by which our nobility should be measured,” he said.

AustineE1:
As soon as he mentioned probing the activities of SANs,I knew it will end up as usuai,political witch hunting of percieved enemies of this government. These guys are so predictable!