₦airaland Forum

Morizo:
Story story story

You are the one trying to be clever by half and not Baba Ahmed

Top legal luminaries have condemned it and insisted that such welfare should be backed by the NJC thru a method designed by them

It's a bribe ..you know that but just pretending to be asleep

You know who also know that? The 10 year old child in your street

How many judges has your state government bribed?

Method designed by them indeed, same members of the NJC that u have accused the federal government of bribing in the past?

Morizo:
Story story story

You are the one trying to be clever by half and not Baba Ahmed

Top legal luminaries have condemned it and insisted that such welfare should be backed by the NJC thru a method designed by them

It's a bribe ..you know that but just pretending to be asleep

You know who also know that? The 10 year old child in your street

"Story story story"?

Interesting. The irony is that after accusing me of story-telling, you proceeded to tell one yourself.

You say "top legal luminaries" have condemned it.

Excellent.

Which ones?

You then say "it's a bribe" and that I know it.

That is not an argument. It is mind-reading.


And thank you for invoking the "10-year-old child in my street."

Indeed, a 10-year-old may know many things, but thankfully constitutional law is not decided by primary school pupils.

As for your "clever by half" line, I must return the compliment.

There is something worse than being clever by half.

It is being emotional by whole.

Poverty has never been an anti-corruption strategy.

And if an official residence can buy a judge's conscience, then the problem is not the house.

The problem is the judge.

And that is a much more frightening proposition.

Dalohad:
Were the Judges living on tree or hanging in the air before Wike (a frequent litigant) bribed them with houses and cars?

Why are you trying to justify this moral and unethical anomalies with fake objectivity?

Nobody said judges were living on trees.

Institutional welfare can always be improved.

Wike did not use personal money to buy judges Christmas gifts. These are official provisions funded through public resources. A private litigant secretly buying a judge a house is bribery. Government providing official residences is welfare.

Calling that “fake objectivity” is funny.

I prefer fake objectivity to genuine hysteria. 😁

And if an official residence can buy a judge's conscience, then the real scandal is not the house.

It is the judge.

And I sincerely hope your view of Nigerian judges is not that low.

Kalulu44:
Tell yourself the truth, can you compare those Judges quarters to any military barracks in Nigeria?
You said you support better welfare for doctors and others, are they getting it?
And talking about legislators and ministers, are they scrutinizing the executive the way they should? Is it not yes sir to everything the executive throws at them.
.
Take a case of the governors, are all of them not praising and standing on the mandate of the president, just bcus more money than usual is been thrown at them to buy their conscience.
My guy, Baba Ahmed is spot on with what he said and most Nigerians supports him

My friend, this is a classic case of false equivalence.

Judges are not soldiers. Therefore, judicial housing need not resemble military barracks. Different institutions have different welfare requirements.

Second, the fact that doctors and teachers also deserve better welfare does not mean judges deserve less. Justice is not a ration card.

Third, if legislators and governors have failed to scrutinize the Executive properly, that is an argument against those legislators and governors, not against judges having decent accommodation.

By your logic, because some politicians have weak spines, judges too should live under leaking roofs.

And please spare me the “most Nigerians support Baba-Ahmed” line.

When exactly did you conduct this national opinion poll?

You people talk to five people who already agree with you and suddenly appoint yourselves spokespersons for 200 million Nigerians.

I have also received many comments from people who agree with my position, but I will never claim “most Nigerians” are with me, because that would be a[b] fraudulent assertion[/b].


So argue the point.

Do not hide behind imaginary majorities.


Your argument proves too much and therefore proves nothing. 😁

Burob:
How many judges has your state government bribed?

Method designed by them indeed, same members of the NJC that u have accused the federal government of bribing in the past?

Hey kid you are not talking to a kid. If my state governor wants to bribe he'll do it without looking back. He's APC so he knows the in-house rules.

BAT is known to bribe judges with "welfare"from his first tenure as Lagos state governor. He has never lost a court case in Lagos and that tells a story itself

Our judges are on trial and they know they are the last bastion of democracy. If they don't know kindly go and tell them

swaggerific:
You wrote all this heavy oyibo/queens English just to completely dodge the most critical fact of this entire conversation.
1. The Private CofO nonsense: You keep trying to sound smart by comparing these mansions to standard salaries, pensions, or office desks. Judges earn salaries…they do not earn free mansions from the executive branch. They need office desks to work…they do not need free mansions to work. Why do they deserve salary annnd free mansion?

That's a massive false equivalence. There’s news online that Wike unabashedly hands over the CofO of the houses to the judges on national tv. So these luxury potentially bugged mansions are issued directly in the personal names of these individual judges for permanent private ownership.

A judge's salary doesn't buy them a lifetime luxury estate in Abuja. Comparing a massive, real estate asset transfer to standard statutory welfare is the real absurdity here. The National Assembly (representing the people) appropriates funds to all 3 branches of government (national assembly, executive, judiciary) but the executive branch turns around to use its own allocation to build mansions for judiciary. How does that make sense? Could it be that they are doing it because they frequently want favorable treatment from that said arm of government?

2. Autonomous Procurement: Nobody said the judiciary should collect taxes or print money. The public treasury funds the entire government, but the Executive doesn't physically award contracts, construct, and hand out private houses to legislators, do they? The National Assembly gets its statutory allocation and handles its own internal procurement.

My brother, thank you for the compliment on my "heavy oyibo". I prefer heavy English to lightweight logic. 😁

Now, point by point.

First, please stop repeating "potentially bugged mansions." We have now moved from constitutional law to Netflix. If you have evidence of bugs and cameras, present it. Otherwise, this is conspiracy theory dressed up as concern.

Second, you ask why judges deserve salaries and houses. Simple: because different forms of welfare serve different purposes. A judge needs more than a desk to function. Institutional dignity matters. By your logic, official residences for military chiefs, governors and presidents are unnecessary because they already receive salaries.

Third, if your objection is that the CofO transfers ownership, then debate that specific policy. I am happy to discuss whether lifetime ownership is wise. But that is very different from claiming the entire exercise is bribery.

Fourth, you say the Executive should not construct houses for another arm of government. Fine. But the issue then is procurement architecture, not corruption. You are changing the argument from "bribe" to "who should award contracts."

And finally, thank you for accusing me of dodging while writing two pages of speculation about hidden microphones.

If your strongest evidence of bribery is "who knows, maybe the houses are bugged," then perhaps the weakness lies not in my heavy English but in your heavy imagination. 😂

Burob:
Bros u no know anything.

I just showed you link that NJC is in charge of building houses for judges...

You still arguing....

swaggerific:
Oga - Your attempt to play smart by saying "the NJC is not a construction company" is a malaria infested argument. Im sure you went to school and I’m sure you know that nobody said the NJC should buy cement and lay blocks. You literally listed their function yourself:
control and disbursement of judiciary funds."

If Tinubu and Wike wanted a truly independent judiciary, those multi-billion naira housing funds would be moved directly into the judiciary's autonomous budget. The head of the Court of Appeal would award the contracts and manage the procurement.

Instead, the Executive (via Wike and the FCTA) chooses to hold the cash, award the contracts, build the luxury estates, and physically hand over the keys as discretionary gifts to the judges.

You keep hiding behind the word "welfare" to justify a compromised institutional structure. It’s not welfare. Judges are very well paid! And a lot of them hold jobs for a very long time in a Nigeria where it’s hard to get jobs so they have job security. So don’t bring up that welfare nonsense.

When a frequent litigant (the Executive) directly controls and gifts luxury properties to the people meant to judge them, it is a conflict of interest, full stop. Quit making excuses for the government that put Nigeria in bad shape and face the constitutional reality.

Legislators don’t get free mansions as soon as they become senators. Ministers don’t get free mansions as soon as they become ministers. Only the president gets to live in Aso rock with his team but it’s still not a free house with CofO to the president. So only these judges get free mansion with clear CofO just for being a judge in a court of law where the federal government frequently goes to. Shameful.

My brother, calling an argument “malaria infested” does not cure the fever in your own logic. 😁

Point one: if your argument is now that the money should pass through judiciary budget lines, fine. That is a procurement/process argument, not proof of bribery.

Point two: “control and disbursement of judiciary funds” does not mean the NJC becomes a property developer. Funds can be appropriated, released, supervised and audited without pretending the NJC should be laying blocks.

Point three: stop saying “frequent litigant” as if it is a discovery. The Federal Government is always a litigant. If that alone disqualifies it from funding judicial welfare, then it should not pay judges’ salaries, pensions, security or court infrastructure either.

Point four: if your real concern is permanent CofO ownership, argue that specific point. I may even agree that official quarters tied to office are cleaner than permanent private transfer. But that still does not make all judicial housing a bribe.

Point five: “judges are well paid” compared to who? A judge handling election petitions and billion-naira disputes should not be measured by ordinary civil-service comfort.

So let us be honest: you have shifted from “bribe” to “procurement concerns” to “CofO concerns.” Those are different debates.

As the proverb says: “A man who keeps changing his road should not accuse others of missing the destination.”

Judicial welfare is valid.

Transparency is necessary.

But hysteria is not constitutional analysis.

CharlesCNG:
"Story story story"?

Interesting. The irony is that after accusing me of story-telling, you proceeded to tell one yourself.

You say "top legal luminaries" have condemned it.

Excellent.

Which ones?

You then say "it's a bribe" and that I know it.

That is not an argument. It is mind-reading.


And thank you for invoking the "10-year-old child in my street."

Indeed, a 10-year-old may know many things, but thankfully constitutional law is not decided by primary school pupils.

As for your "clever by half" line, I must return the compliment.

There is something worse than being clever by half.

It is being emotional by whole.

Poverty has never been an anti-corruption strategy.

And if an official residence can buy a judge's conscience, then the problem is not the house.

The problem is the judge.

And that is a much more frightening proposition.

I guess Falana isn't one or Sagay isn't. Or the retired supreme court justice woman that blasted the judiciary some time ago on same comprise with the executive.(Forgotten her name)

But we Lagosians knows it's Bat's strategy to create judges "welfarism" . During his time as governor of Lagos state he did exactly the same thing for judges. Go research that and how be privatise pipe borne water in Jos first month as governor in 1999.

No wonder he has never lost a court case.

Keep pretending to be asleep. One day you'll wake up to the point where we are now.... being a patriot beyond party and tribal lines as we search for a solution that will give our children a better future rather than have poverty indices that are being compared to South Sudan and Somalia .

swaggerific:
There’s NJC. If judges want cars they can get it through them. Imagine if frequent litigants start buying houses and cars and flights and expensive gifts for judges, how would you feel? Please don’t defend this nonsense.

If they paid you to defend them please go give it back to them because it’s not worth the destruction of the country you love.

Thank you for your concern about my bank account. I regret to inform you that nobody has paid me. 😁

Now to your argument.

First, the NJC does not manufacture cars or build houses. Its role is administration and disbursement, not real estate development.

Second, your comparison is false. A private litigant secretly buying judges houses, flights and cars is bribery. Government-provided institutional welfare approved through public processes is not.

Those two things are as different as a salary and a brown envelope.

Third, you keep saying "frequent litigant" as though it is a revelation. The Federal Government is always a frequent litigant. By your logic, it should stop paying judges' salaries and funding court buildings too.

Fourth, if your concern is procurement architecture or permanent CofOs, fine. That is a legitimate debate. But that is not the same thing as bribery.

And finally, thank you for worrying about "the destruction of the country."

The country will survive disagreement.

What destroys countries is the inability to distinguish between welfare and corruption.


And please, if they ever pay me, I promise to return the money right after you return the imagination that produced this argument. 😂

Morizo:
I guess Falana isn't one or Sagay isn't. Or the retired supreme court justice woman that blasted the judiciary some time ago on same comprise with the executive.(Forgotten her name)

But we Lagosians knows it's Bat's strategy to create judges "welfarism" . During his time as governor of Lagos state he did exactly the same thing for judges. Go research that and how be privatise pipe borne water in Jos first month as governor in 1999.

No wonder he has never lost a court case.

Keep pretending to be asleep. One day you'll wake up to the point where we are now.... being a patriot beyond party and tribal lines as we search for a solution that will give our children a better future rather than have poverty indices that are being compared to South Sudan and Somalia .

My brother, name-dropping Falana and Sagay does not end the debate. It only proves that respected lawyers can hold opinions — and opinions can still be interrogated.

Falana’s position, as reported, is that judicial housing should be handled through the NJC/National Assembly process. Fine. That is a process argument, not automatic proof of bribery.

Justice Dattijo and Justice Ejembi Eko criticised corruption and opacity in the judiciary itself, including questions around how judicial funds are managed. That actually supports my point: the answer is transparency and accountability, not shouting “bribe” at every welfare intervention.

As for “BAT strategy,” thank you for confirming this is now political suspicion, not evidence.

You say Tinubu never loses court cases. Really? No politician has a 100% litigation universe. That is the kind of sweeping claim people make when emotion outruns proof.

And please, “keep pretending to be asleep” is not an argument. If I am asleep, then your logic is clearly sleepwalking. 😁

Patriotism is not paranoia. Judicial welfare is valid. Procurement can be debated. Transparency is necessary. But calling everything bribery because Tinubu is involved is not analysis.

It is partisan allergy wearing constitutional perfume.

sucess001:
I just showed you link that NJC is in charge of building houses for judges...

You still arguing....

Your link did not show that NJC builds houses. You showed that NJC controls and disburses judiciary funds. Those are not the same thing.

Falana’s point is a process argument: that judicial welfare should be routed through judiciary-controlled funding to strengthen independence.

Fine. That is worth debating.

But it does not prove bribery.

NJC is constitutionally empowered to handle judiciary funds, appointments and discipline. It is not automatically the agency that must award building contracts, supervise construction sites and hand over keys.

Its constitutional powers include collecting, controlling and disbursing capital and recurrent monies for the judiciary. That supports Falana’s process argument. But it does not mean NJC is a construction company or that every judicial housing project must be physically procured and built by NJC.

Also, the FCT judges’ quarters project was publicly reported as FCTA-built, flagged off by the CJN, and defended by Wike as welfare, not influence.

If your argument is “the process should be cleaner,” I can listen.

If your argument is “therefore it is a bribe,” that is a leap.

Process concern is not proof of corruption.

SecurityNgr:
Let's Discuss About This.

Falana's Process Argument Does Not Prove Judicial Bribery by CharlesCNG

Femi Falana's concerns about judicial independence deserve serious consideration. But serious concerns do not automatically translate into simple solutions.

Many critics argue that the provision of houses for judges should have been handled through the National Judicial Council. Fine. That is a legitimate conversation about process and procurement. But it is a huge leap from there to accusing the Executive of bribing the judiciary.

The NJC is not a construction company. Its constitutional responsibilities relate to appointments, discipline and administration of judicial funds. Transforming it into a housing developer would require a more complicated framework involving appropriations, procurement, supervision and auditing.

Those who say "let the NJC build the houses" speak as though one merely waves a magic wand and concrete begins to pour itself.

The real question is not whether judges deserve decent accommodation. They do.

The real question is how best to provide it while strengthening institutional independence and ensuring transparency.

That is a debate worth having.

But reducing everything to cries of "bribery" is intellectual laziness.

Poverty has never been an anti-corruption strategy.

And institutional weakness has never been the foundation of judicial independence.

Transparency can be improved.

Procurement processes can be refined.

But hysteria should never masquerade as constitutional wisdom.

Good institutions are built by reason, not slogans.

Reference:
Exactly.

The Judiciary should have their own money directly from the treasury.
The Legislature should be financed directly by the people.

My brother, that is not the position of the Constitution.

Yes, Sections 81(3) and 84 of the Constitution provide for financial autonomy of the judiciary. But autonomy does not mean the judiciary runs a parallel treasury or becomes a real estate developer.

Money still comes from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The three arms do not each collect taxes separately.

Second, not every institution handles procurement directly. Governments all over the world use specialized agencies to design, procure and build infrastructure. That is precisely why entities like the FCDA/FCTA exist.

You speak as though every agency must maintain its own architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and procurement departments. That would create needless duplication and inefficiency.

Third, this is not the first time the FCDA has built houses for judges or legislators. The Abuja Master Plan has long involved the FCDA providing infrastructure and institutional accommodation for various arms and agencies of government.

Finally, if your argument is that judicial allocations should directly fund procurement under a revised framework, fine. That is a respectable process argument.

But do not pretend that using the FCDA to construct houses automatically converts welfare into bribery.

As the proverb says:

"A man does not buy three hoes when one blacksmith can make them all."

The Constitution guarantees autonomy, not architectural self-sufficiency.

And separation of powers was never intended to mean separation of construction companies. 😁

sucess001:
I just showed you link that NJC is in charge of building houses for judges...

You still arguing....

Incoherent man, ok tell us Who gave them the money to build the houses for the judges?

What business does the NJC do, that gave them the kind of money to build 21st century smart houses around the federation, year in, & year out for judges?

Morizo:
Hey kid you are not talking to a kid. If my state governor wants to bribe he'll do it without looking back. He's APC so he knows the in-house rules.

BAT is known to bribe judges with "welfare"from his first tenure as Lagos state governor. He has never lost a court case in Lagos and that tells a story itself

Our judges are on trial and they know they are the last bastion of democracy. If they don't know kindly go and tell them

Quite obvious that u are praying & waiting for your own bribe?

But sorry u are not worth even 100k Naira.

CharlesCNG:
My brother, name-dropping Falana and Sagay does not end the debate. It only proves that respected lawyers can hold opinions — and opinions can still be interrogated.

Falana’s position, as reported, is that judicial housing should be handled through the NJC/National Assembly process. Fine. That is a process argument, not automatic proof of bribery.

Justice Dattijo and Justice Ejembi Eko criticised corruption and opacity in the judiciary itself, including questions around how judicial funds are managed. That actually supports my point: the answer is transparency and accountability, not shouting “bribe” at every welfare intervention.

As for “BAT strategy,” thank you for confirming this is now political suspicion, not evidence.

You say Tinubu never loses court cases. Really? No politician has a 100% litigation universe. That is the kind of sweeping claim people make when emotion outruns proof.

And please, “keep pretending to be asleep” is not an argument. If I am asleep, then your logic is clearly sleepwalking. 😁

Patriotism is not paranoia. Judicial welfare is valid. Procurement can be debated. Transparency is necessary. But calling everything bribery because Tinubu is involved is not analysis.

It is partisan allergy wearing constitutional perfume.

To start from your concluding line, I have never been Partisan. But politically conscious enough to make weighted voting choices. For instance,in the 2023 elections I voted across party lines. My ballot papers had APC(2), LP(2), PDP (1) for both elections.
Also the only time I joined a party was the NCP after graduation and I was a state secretary. I saw the evils of politicians first hand and quickly left politics for public service but I still follow the political trends and advocate strongly for good governance. I strongly believe party politics has been used to stifle democracy.

Other issues you raised just confirmed my position that it's a bribe and I strongly align with the position of Baba Ahmed that the judiciary shouldn't even be seen in public occasions talk more of attending political functions and frolicking with the political class. Hope you didn't forget the senator that was that was thanking his wife, a federal judge for helping his political friends with favourable judgements. That was under Lawan.

All these conspiracies and suspicions nationwide are not supposed to be associated with the judiciary if you are kind enough to agree with me on that. They are the last bastion of democracy but in Nigeria it's the social media that's now defending democracy not even the regular media. Most of the print media have been corrupted or partisan.

This country belongs to all of us and we can see that immigration laws in other countries and the uncivilised actions of some xenophobic cretins in SA has forced our people to be returning home in droves. Many ran away due to the terrible elitist governance in Nigeria that's likened to autocracy. If we don't intentionally build a "welfare for all" country where anyone can have equal opportunity to eke our a decent living and pursue happiness then the level of insecurity and crime is just beginning. Because the bad Apples from both the returnees and the home base will exploit it.

Thomas Sankara once said " I'll rather have safe drinking water for all than champagne for a few"

Maybe, you my friend, is among the few but have some compassion for the over 80% of Nigerians suffering multidimensional poverty. One month into office Tinubu privatised ppe borne drinking water in June 1999. That precedent spread over ethe country a decade later and now we are amongst the worst counties with safe drinking water.

To hold political and industrial elites accountable, the judiciary must be 💯 independent and seen to be transparent

CharlesCNG:
Thank you for your concern about my bank account. I regret to inform you that nobody has paid me. 😁

Now to your argument.

First, the NJC does not manufacture cars or build houses. Its role is administration and disbursement, not real estate development.

Second, your comparison is false. A private litigant secretly buying judges houses, flights and cars is bribery. Government-provided institutional welfare approved through public processes is not.

Those two things are as different as a salary and a brown envelope.

Third, you keep saying "frequent litigant" as though it is a revelation. The Federal Government is always a frequent litigant. By your logic, it should stop paying judges' salaries and funding court buildings too.

Fourth, if your concern is procurement architecture or permanent CofOs, fine. That is a legitimate debate. But that is not the same thing as bribery.

And finally, thank you for worrying about "the destruction of the country."

The country will survive disagreement.

What destroys countries is the inability to distinguish between welfare and corruption.


And please, if they ever pay me, I promise to return the money right after you return the imagination that produced this argument. 😂

Intelligent analysis.

CharlesCNG:
My friend, this is a classic case of false equivalence.

Judges are not soldiers. Therefore, judicial housing need not resemble military barracks. Different institutions have different welfare requirements.

Second, the fact that doctors and teachers also deserve better welfare does not mean judges deserve less. Justice is not a ration card.

Third, if legislators and governors have failed to scrutinize the Executive properly, that is an argument against those legislators and governors, not against judges having decent accommodation.

By your logic, because some politicians have weak spines, judges too should live under leaking roofs.

And please spare me the “most Nigerians support Baba-Ahmed” line.

When exactly did you conduct this national opinion poll?

You people talk to five people who already agree with you and suddenly appoint yourselves spokespersons for 200 million Nigerians.

I have also received many comments from people who agree with my position, but I will never claim “most Nigerians” are with me, because that would be a[b] fraudulent assertion[/b].


So argue the point.

Do not hide behind imaginary majorities.


Your argument proves too much and therefore proves nothing. 😁

Alright i admit my opinion on "most" Nigerians supports Baba Ahmed is flawed.
But you keep shooting yourself in the foot by saying bcus Doctors deserves better doesn't mean Judges deserves less.
The question here is, are doctors getting close to half of what Judges are getting presently?
.
You said judicial houses needs not to resemble army barracks. Who made the law that it's not supposed to be so.
Are Judges ought to be living like angels while soldiers live like aliens.
Is it a crime if the government makes army barracks looks like human beings are living there.
Is the job of Judges more important than a soldier?
.
And again you brought in the argument of legislators, governors and ministers. But you're trying to deflate it back to the Judges when I countered you that they too are being bought by the executives.
The truth here is, they are all weak including the Judges bcus he who pays the piper dictate the tune.
The executives are the ones dictating the tune cus they have bought over all the pipes available.
.
Whether you agree or not, there's no Judge currently that will go against the president will. That's why the ruling party boldly tells you to go to court if you're not satisfy with whatever outcomes that comes the way of the opposition. Bcus they know they own the courts and Judges.
And thru out your argument trying to defend why Judges deserves what they're getting is bcus their judgement will always favor the people you support.
.
All these can only stop if the president stops appointing people to the top of every institution of the country. And I am not saying it started with the present government, it has been like that for long but it had to stopped for we to have any headway.
The executives should let those institutions truly be independent of their own.
And nobody outside their institution should dictate for them.
Shikena!

CharlesCNG:
Your link did not show that NJC builds houses. You showed that NJC controls and disburses judiciary funds. Those are not the same thing.

Falana’s point is a process argument: that judicial welfare should be routed through judiciary-controlled funding to strengthen independence.

Fine. That is worth debating.

But it does not prove bribery.

NJC is constitutionally empowered to handle judiciary funds, appointments and discipline. It is not automatically the agency that must award building contracts, supervise construction sites and hand over keys.

Its constitutional powers include collecting, controlling and disbursing capital and recurrent monies for the judiciary. That supports Falana’s process argument. But it does not mean NJC is a construction company or that every judicial housing project must be physically procured and built by NJC.

Also, the FCT judges’ quarters project was publicly reported as FCTA-built, flagged off by the CJN, and defended by Wike as welfare, not influence.

If your argument is “the process should be cleaner,” I can listen.

If your argument is “therefore it is a bribe,” that is a leap.

Process concern is not proof of corruption.

When you control budget, if doesn't mean you are tasked with allocating accommodation needs??

Some of you apc boys that keep calling white black and black white, God will punish you

sucess001:
When you control budget, if doesn't mean you are tasked with allocating accommodation needs??

Some of you apc boys that keep calling white black and black white, God will punish you

My brother, thank you for the prayer. May God also punish defective reasoning wherever it is found. 😁

Now to your point.

Controlling a budget does not automatically mean an institution must personally execute every specialized project.

That is why governments create specialized agencies.

The Central Bank controls monetary policy; it does not print every naira note by hand.

The Ministry of Health controls health policy; it does not manufacture syringes.

Likewise, the NJC may control and disburse judicial funds without directly handling complex construction and procurement projects.

Not every institution has architects, engineers, quantity surveyors and project managers sitting around waiting to build houses.

That is precisely why agencies like the FCDA/FCTA exist.

You are confusing control of funds with execution of projects.

Those are two different things.

And please spare me the "APC boys calling white black and black white" sermon.

It is ironic coming from someone trying to prove that procurement architecture equals bribery.


"He who mistakes the cook for the farmer will soon blame the pot for the harvest".

The issue is transparency and due process.

Not whether every institution must become its own construction company. 😂

Kalulu44:
Alright i admit my opinion on "most" Nigerians supports Baba Ahmed is flawed.
But you keep shooting yourself in the foot by saying bcus Doctors deserves better doesn't mean Judges deserves less.
The question here is, are doctors getting close to half of what Judges are getting presently?
.
You said judicial houses needs not to resemble army barracks. Who made the law that it's not supposed to be so.
Are Judges ought to be living like angels while soldiers live like aliens.
Is it a crime if the government makes army barracks looks like human beings are living there.
Is the job of Judges more important than a soldier?
.
And again you brought in the argument of legislators, governors and ministers. But you're trying to deflate it back to the Judges when I countered you that they too are being bought by the executives.
The truth here is, they are all weak including the Judges bcus he who pays the piper dictate the tune.
The executives are the ones dictating the tune cus they have bought over all the pipes available.
.
Whether you agree or not, there's no Judge currently that will go against the president will. That's why the ruling party boldly tells you to go to court if you're not satisfy with whatever outcomes that comes the way of the opposition. Bcus they know they own the courts and Judges.
And thru out your argument trying to defend why Judges deserves what they're getting is bcus their judgement will always favor the people you support.
.
All these can only stop if the president stops appointing people to the top of every institution of the country. And I am not saying it started with the present government, it has been like that for long but it had to stopped for we to have any headway.
The executives should let those institutions truly be independent of their own.
And nobody outside their institution should dictate for them.
Shikena!

First, let me commend you. You have stated your position passionately and without a single insult. That is increasingly rare. It is refreshing to disagree without descending into abuse.

Second, I think we are now discussing something much deeper than judges' houses. We are discussing the constitutional concentration of executive power.

On doctors and soldiers, I agree they deserve much better. But equality does not mean identical treatment. Judges are not soldiers, and soldiers are not judges. Different institutions have different welfare requirements. Improving one should not require neglecting another.

On the bigger issue, I partly agree with you. The Presidency in Nigeria is too powerful. The power to appoint heads of institutions, influence budgets and shape the bureaucracy deserves serious constitutional reform.

But that is precisely my point: the problem is not houses.

The problem is constitutional design.

You say "he who pays the piper dictates the tune." But the Constitution itself provides for presidential appointments, Senate confirmation and appropriations. If those powers are excessive, then let us debate constitutional amendments, not confuse welfare with bribery.

And I must respectfully disagree that no judge can rule against the government. History and recent cases show governments and powerful politicians losing in court.

In the end, we may agree on the disease but disagree on the symptom.

The concentration of executive power is a constitutional issue.

Judges' houses are merely the latest battlefield in a much older debate.

Shikena. 🙂

Morizo:
To start from your concluding line, I have never been Partisan. But politically conscious enough to make weighted voting choices. For instance,in the 2023 elections I voted across party lines. My ballot papers had APC(2), LP(2), PDP (1) for both elections.
Also the only time I joined a party was the NCP after graduation and I was a state secretary. I saw the evils of politicians first hand and quickly left politics for public service but I still follow the political trends and advocate strongly for good governance. I strongly believe party politics has been used to stifle democracy.

Other issues you raised just confirmed my position that it's a bribe and I strongly align with the position of Baba Ahmed that the judiciary shouldn't even be seen in public occasions talk more of attending political functions and frolicking with the political class. Hope you didn't forget the senator that was that was thanking his wife, a federal judge for helping his political friends with favourable judgements. That was under Lawan.

All these conspiracies and suspicions nationwide are not supposed to be associated with the judiciary if you are kind enough to agree with me on that. They are the last bastion of democracy but in Nigeria it's the social media that's now defending democracy not even the regular media. Most of the print media have been corrupted or partisan.

This country belongs to all of us and we can see that immigration laws in other countries and the uncivilised actions of some xenophobic cretins in SA has forced our people to be returning home in droves. Many ran away due to the terrible elitist governance in Nigeria that's likened to autocracy. If we don't intentionally build a "welfare for all" country where anyone can have equal opportunity to eke our a decent living and pursue happiness then the level of insecurity and crime is just beginning. Because the bad Apples from both the returnees and the home base will exploit it.

Thomas Sankara once said " I'll rather have safe drinking water for all than champagne for a few"

Maybe, you my friend, is among the few but have some compassion for the over 80% of Nigerians suffering multidimensional poverty. One month into office Tinubu privatised ppe borne drinking water in June 1999. That precedent spread over ethe country a decade later and now we are amongst the worst counties with safe drinking water.

To hold political and industrial elites accountable, the judiciary must be 💯 independent and seen to be transparent

Thank you for making your points in such a civil manner. This is the kind of conversation we should be having.

I accept your broader concern: Nigeria’s judiciary must not only be independent; it must be seen to be independent. Perception matters greatly, especially in a country where public trust is already fragile.

I also agree that judges should avoid unnecessary political socialising, partisan optics and any conduct that creates suspicion.

Where we differ is in the conclusion that official accommodation automatically equals bribery.

To me, the stronger argument is this: judicial welfare is necessary, but the process must be transparent, institutionally clean and insulated from political theatre.

So yes, if the concern is that housing should be routed through clearer judiciary-controlled budgetary processes, that is a legitimate reform argument.

But if the argument is that judges should not be well housed because Nigerians are poor, I disagree. Poverty for judges will not solve poverty for citizens.

On “welfare for all,” I agree completely. Doctors, teachers, soldiers, police officers and ordinary citizens deserve dignity too.

But we should not build equality by weakening institutions. We should build a country where judges are protected, workers are respected, citizens have opportunity, and public officials are accountable.

So perhaps our disagreement is not on the destination.

It is on how we describe the road.

You call it bribery.

I call it welfare needing better institutional safeguards.

CharlesCNG:
First, let me commend you. You have stated your position passionately and without a single insult. That is increasingly rare. It is refreshing to disagree without descending into abuse.

Second, I think we are now discussing something much deeper than judges' houses. We are discussing the constitutional concentration of executive power.

On doctors and soldiers, I agree they deserve much better. But equality does not mean identical treatment. Judges are not soldiers, and soldiers are not judges. Different institutions have different welfare requirements. Improving one should not require neglecting another.

On the bigger issue, I partly agree with you. The Presidency in Nigeria is too powerful. The power to appoint heads of institutions, influence budgets and shape the bureaucracy deserves serious constitutional reform.

But that is precisely my point: the problem is not houses.

The problem is constitutional design.

You say "he who pays the piper dictates the tune." But the Constitution itself provides for presidential appointments, Senate confirmation and appropriations. If those powers are excessive, then let us debate constitutional amendments, not confuse welfare with bribery.

And I must respectfully disagree that no judge can rule against the government. History and recent cases show governments and powerful politicians losing in court.

In the end, we may agree on the disease but disagree on the symptom.

The concentration of executive power is a constitutional issue.

Judges' houses are merely the latest battlefield in a much older debate.

Shikena. 🙂

Hmmmm.... Thanks for acknowledging my none insultive argument. And thanks also for your matured and responsible response all thru. Talking about the constitution, I won't lie to you I haven't read it for one day apart from reading and hearing most of it online or from people. And I truly agree with you that most of our constitution are flawed and needs revisiting.
.
All in all I think I agree with some of your assertion just as I know you agree with some of mine.
Have a blissful weekend ahead.

This is not funny. You are still fighting a ridiculous battle. It doesn’t make sense. You know it doesn’t make sense but you’re still arguing over it. Someone is blatantly bribing judges that should be impartial and the judges are gleefully accepting it and you’re online defending it. I hope your future self looks at you in awe at how intelligent you are.

Nobody said the NJC should buy cement. You're intentionally missing or trying to obfuscate the point: the NJC controls the Judiciary's autonomous budget, which is funded directly through a top line Charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund. You know this or should know this. The constitution set it up this way precisely so the Judiciary could handle its own capital procurement independently from the Executive branch.

Yet, the Executive bypasses this autonomy by allocating these housing funds through the FCT Administration's budget. Why? Because it allows them to turn an institutional right into a personal political favor.

Wike's words: "This is the approval of Mr. President... as they are retiring, the property becomes their own, and that is why we issued the CofOs in their names." He explicitly called them "retirement gifts from President Bola Tinubu." So this is a gift. A gift to a judge who is presiding over your cases is a bribe. Call a spade a spade.

When the President and his minister hand-deliver private, multi-billion naira land assets to individual judges as personal "gifts" rather than letting the judiciary procure them via statutory allocation, it is a conflict of interest. If you can't distinguish between independent institutional funding and a direct real estate handout from a frequent litigant, the problem is your reasoning, not our imagination.

You are trying to obfuscate yeye but unfortunately yeye smells.

https://www.thisdaylive.com/2025/10/14/wike-judges-residences-are-retirement-gift-from-tinubu/

CharlesCNG:
Thank you for your concern about my bank account. I regret to inform you that nobody has paid me. 😁

Now to your argument.

First, the NJC does not manufacture cars or build houses. Its role is administration and disbursement, not real estate development.

Second, your comparison is false. A private litigant secretly buying judges houses, flights and cars is bribery. Government-provided institutional welfare approved through public processes is not.

Those two things are as different as a salary and a brown envelope.

Third, you keep saying "frequent litigant" as though it is a revelation. The Federal Government is always a frequent litigant. By your logic, it should stop paying judges' salaries and funding court buildings too.

Fourth, if your concern is procurement architecture or permanent CofOs, fine. That is a legitimate debate. But that is not the same thing as bribery.

And finally, thank you for worrying about "the destruction of the country."

The country will survive disagreement.

What destroys countries is the inability to distinguish between welfare and corruption.


And please, if they ever pay me, I promise to return the money right after you return the imagination that produced this argument. 😂

A salary is a transparent, statutory right that every civil earns and absolutely deserves after doing the job. A multibillion naira Abuja mansion with a C-of-O processed in a judge's personal name is a discretionary handout specifically given to a select few people who have direct influence over cases involving the federal government. Those houses don’t go the staff of those judges.

Wike literally called them “retirement gifts from President Bola Tinubu." When the Executive branch sidesteps the judiciary's autonomous budget to hand-deliver private land titles to individual judges who rule on their cases, it is an institutional conflict of interest.

Wrap it in the word "welfare" all you want, but it's classic executive capture and a clear bribe as Baba Ahmed said. Keep your long essays; the reality is clear to everyone. Done with the back and forth.

CharlesCNG:
My brother, calling an argument “malaria infested” does not cure the fever in your own logic. 😁

Point one: if your argument is now that the money should pass through judiciary budget lines, fine. That is a procurement/process argument, not proof of bribery.

Point two: “control and disbursement of judiciary funds” does not mean the NJC becomes a property developer. Funds can be appropriated, released, supervised and audited without pretending the NJC should be laying blocks.

Point three: stop saying “frequent litigant” as if it is a discovery. The Federal Government is always a litigant. If that alone disqualifies it from funding judicial welfare, then it should not pay judges’ salaries, pensions, security or court infrastructure either.

Point four: if your real concern is permanent CofO ownership, argue that specific point. I may even agree that official quarters tied to office are cleaner than permanent private transfer. But that still does not make all judicial housing a bribe.

Point five: “judges are well paid” compared to who? A judge handling election petitions and billion-naira disputes should not be measured by ordinary civil-service comfort.

So let us be honest: you have shifted from “bribe” to “procurement concerns” to “CofO concerns.” Those are different debates.

As the proverb says: “A man who keeps changing his road should not accuse others of missing the destination.”

Judicial welfare is valid.

Transparency is necessary.

But hysteria is not constitutional analysis.

Kalulu44:
Alright i admit my opinion on "most" Nigerians supports Baba Ahmed is flawed.
But you keep shooting yourself in the foot by saying bcus Doctors deserves better doesn't mean Judges deserves less.
The question here is, are doctors getting close to half of what Judges are getting presently?
.
You said judicial houses needs not to resemble army barracks. Who made the law that it's not supposed to be so.
Are Judges ought to be living like angels while soldiers live like aliens.
Is it a crime if the government makes army barracks looks like human beings are living there.
Is the job of Judges more important than a soldier?
.
And again you brought in the argument of legislators, governors and ministers. But you're trying to deflate it back to the Judges when I countered you that they too are being bought by the executives.
The truth here is, they are all weak including the Judges bcus he who pays the piper dictate the tune.
The executives are the ones dictating the tune cus they have bought over all the pipes available.
.
Whether you agree or not, there's no Judge currently that will go against the president will. That's why the ruling party boldly tells you to go to court if you're not satisfy with whatever outcomes that comes the way of the opposition. Bcus they know they own the courts and Judges.
And thru out your argument trying to defend why Judges deserves what they're getting is bcus their judgement will always favor the people you support.
.
All these can only stop if the president stops appointing people to the top of every institution of the country. And I am not saying it started with the present government, it has been like that for long but it had to stopped for we to have any headway.
The executives should let those institutions truly be independent of their own.
And nobody outside their institution should dictate for them.
Shikena!

Ogbeni Linus Twale 🙌

Kalulu44:
Hmmmm.... Thanks for acknowledging my none insultive argument. And thanks also for your matured and responsible response all thru. Talking about the constitution, I won't lie to you I haven't read it for one day apart from reading and hearing most of it online or from people. And I truly agree with you that most of our constitution are flawed and needs revisiting.
.
All in all I think I agree with some of your assertion just as I know you agree with some of mine.
Have a blissful weekend ahead.

Oga Linus, hope say you enjoy the ban

swaggerific:
A salary is a transparent, statutory right that every civil earns and absolutely deserves after doing the job. A multibillion naira Abuja mansion with a C-of-O processed in a judge's personal name is a discretionary handout specifically given to a select few people who have direct influence over cases involving the federal government. Those houses don’t go the staff of those judges.

Wike literally called them “retirement gifts from President Bola Tinubu." When the Executive branch sidesteps the judiciary's autonomous budget to hand-deliver private land titles to individual judges who rule on their cases, it is an institutional conflict of interest.

Wrap it in the word "welfare" all you want, but it's classic executive capture and a clear bribe as Baba Ahmed said. Keep your long essays; the reality is clear to everyone. Done with the back and forth.

Give them they will wail, don’t give them they will wail, best ignore the Wailers, & do what he wants.

CharlesCNG:
Thank you for making your points in such a civil manner. This is the kind of conversation we should be having.

I accept your broader concern: Nigeria’s judiciary must not only be independent; it must be seen to be independent. Perception matters greatly, especially in a country where public trust is already fragile.

I also agree that judges should avoid unnecessary political socialising, partisan optics and any conduct that creates suspicion.

Where we differ is in the conclusion that official accommodation automatically equals bribery.

To me, the stronger argument is this: judicial welfare is necessary, but the process must be transparent, institutionally clean and insulated from political theatre.

So yes, if the concern is that housing should be routed through clearer judiciary-controlled budgetary processes, that is a legitimate reform argument.

But if the argument is that judges should not be well housed because Nigerians are poor, I disagree. Poverty for judges will not solve poverty for citizens.

On “welfare for all,” I agree completely. Doctors, teachers, soldiers, police officers and ordinary citizens deserve dignity too.

But we should not build equality by weakening institutions. We should build a country where judges are protected, workers are respected, citizens have opportunity, and public officials are accountable.

So perhaps our disagreement is not on the destination.

It is on how we describe the road.

You call it bribery.

I call it welfare needing better institutional safeguards.

I brotherly acknowledged your appreciation of my civility on this discourse. The feeling is mutual. That's how nation building amongst mature minds should be because we all want the same thing. Reason I avoided partisan politics was because that's one of the biggest challenges of our democracy. Parties have become vehicles of convenience for massive corruption. The framers of democracy envisaged a political party as a school for developing agents of patriotic change through a process that holds them also accountable in the same vein. But our Nigerian version is just visionless with almost zero ideology.

The so called APC progressives are now promoters of a monopolistic and oligopolistic version of capitalism where the poor are overburden with civil responsibilities like high taxes while the elites with the means of production are tripling their profits. Just look at the banks and Industrialists. R
I once posited in a radio caller programme before the 2023 elections that Industrialists shouldn't be part of elective politics because they will make economic policies that will favour their businesses instead of protecting the poor. Even though Trump is a rare one in American politics but you can see the turmoils of his two tenures

Thanks for also acknowledging that perception management is key in this age of social media where narratives can be easily conceived, incubated and disseminated around the globe in less than 12 hours. The judiciary should abscond totally from political functions under whatever guise so they aren't tainted by perception cos it matters esp when judgements sometimes looked subjective like the justice Peter Lifu's imbroglio. I strongly posit that the welfare of the judiciary be handled by the NJC with their own parameters. We also have other top professionals like you earlier admitted who might feel left out like medical doctors, Professors etc. Remember one of the first things Tinubu did upon swearing in was to increase the salaries of judges by over 300%! If that's not pointing towards something I wonder what does. The executive should allow the judiciary to be financially independent as stipulated by the French philosopher Baron De Montesquiei in his doctrine of the separation of powers.

No one is advocating for the poverty of the judiciary. As I highlighted above they have already enjoyed a 300% rise in salary in a country that's really struggling due to harsh economic policies. They'll look the other way as they did during the end hardship protest by sentencing young people to harsh terms without remorse or looking at the the validity of their anger. They are comfortable so how can they understand the common man's perspective? Judicial reforms are long overdue and I believe it will come sooner than later because the eyes on the judiciary has grown beyond our borders.

I pray we see a Nigeria of our innate conviction that given our natural resources and human resource, we should be amongst the top 20 prosperous countries in the world. Norway and Luxembourg currently sit amongst the top 5 prosperous countries. Please check their human per capita index and their government's welfarist policies like subsidies amongst others. Also compare how many millionaires they have there with ours ...there's almost zero billionaires in some of these countries. The gap between the rich and the poor has many layers that made it almost unseen.

The engagement was well appreciated 👍

Burob:
Quite obvious that u are praying & waiting for your own bribe?

But sorry u are not worth even 100k Naira.

You are a well known political jobber and clown in Nairaland street

So engaging with you is an exercise in futility

Go attend your campaign WhatsApp meeting