Retired Supreme Court Justice Amina Adamu Augie has warned that corruption, inadequate funding and delays in justice delivery are undermining Nigeria’s judiciary, calling for stronger accountability within the legal profession.

Augie spoke on Saturday in Abuja at the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian Law School Class of 1986, also known as the Centennial Class, where she delivered a public lecture titled “The Rule of Law and Justice Delivery — The Last 40 Years, Today and Tomorrow: Wither Nigeria?”

The former Nigerian Law School lecturer identified corruption, political interference, poor funding and slow court proceedings as major obstacles to effective justice delivery.

“The third, which I will not dress up, is corruption. Where it exists on the Bench, at the Bar, or in the Registry, it poisons everything by turning the one place that a citizen should find impartiality into one more market stall,” she said.

While warning against corruption, Augie cautioned that the entire judiciary should not be labelled corrupt, noting that most judges and lawyers were honest, hardworking and underpaid. She argued that the system should protect judicial officers’ integrity rather than expose them to temptation.

She blamed misconduct by some senior legal practitioners for damaging public confidence in the administration of justice.

“Have we kept faith with them? In part, YES, in part, NO. Public trust has paid the price. The public today is quick to believe the worst of lawyers, and sorry to say, not always without cause,” she said.

“When a few senior members of the profession have been found to traffic in the corruption of justice, the damage is not to them alone; it stains the gown we all wear.”

Augie said restoring public trust required professional accountability rather than image management, urging the legal profession to discipline erring members regardless of their status.

“Restoring that trust is not a matter of better public relations. It is a matter of conduct and a profession willing to discipline its own, without fear or favor, no matter how senior the offender may be in the legal profession,” she said.

She also urged lawyers to look beyond representing clients and take responsibility for protecting the courts and the administration of justice. She called on them to uphold honesty, candour and the rule of law while resisting attempts to manipulate proceedings, fabricate evidence or secure favourable judgments through improper means.

On judicial independence, the retired justice criticised the judiciary’s dependence on the executive for basic operational needs, arguing that inadequate funding compromises its autonomy.

“A Judiciary that must beg the executive for a Courtroom roof, vehicles, or even the Judges’ entitlements is not fully free; financial autonomy for the Courts is not a perk for Justices and Judges, but a guarantee for litigants,” she said.

She described delays as a chronic problem in the justice system, highlighting the high cost and slow pace of litigation.

Drawing from her experience at the Supreme Court, Augie said the apex court was overwhelmed by appeals, including disputes that should not ordinarily reach it. She recalled a case involving the burning of 12 goats that proceeded to the Supreme Court despite its heavy workload.

She called for constitutional amendments to limit the categories of appeals that could reach the apex court, allowing justices to focus on cases of greater legal and national significance.

Augie also condemned government authorities’ continued disobedience of court orders, citing the prolonged detentions of former National Security Adviser Sambo Dasuki and Islamic Movement leader Ibrahim El-Zakzaky despite judicial orders for their release.

She warned that such actions weakened the authority of the courts and encouraged the perception that obedience to the law was optional.

Assessing the judiciary’s development over the past 40 years, Augie acknowledged progress since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999 but lamented that justice remained slow, expensive and inaccessible to many Nigerians.

She cited Nigeria’s ranking of 120th out of 143 countries in the 2025 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, describing it as a troubling reflection of the country’s institutional weaknesses.

The former Supreme Court justice called for reforms to strengthen judicial independence, expand access to justice, improve case management and restore ethical standards across the legal profession.

She urged members of the Nigerian Law School Class of 1986, many of whom now occupy senior positions in the judiciary and legal profession, to use their influence to defend the rule of law and rebuild public confidence.

“If Governments obey the Courts, if its Judgments are enforced, if justice comes within a reasonable time and within reach of the poor, if the profession upholds its integrity and disciplines its own,” she said, Nigeria would be better positioned to secure its future.

Augie concluded that the country’s survival and progress depended on its leaders and legal professionals upholding the rule of law.