Why Justice Niki Tobi’s 19-Year-Old Warning Still Haunts the Judiciary
Whenever our judicial system suffers the heavy, suffocating discomfort of injustice, it forces us to look back at history. The public cries against judicial interference are not new, but as we navigate today’s political climate, they have never felt more urgent.
Recently, legal practitioner Ekene Aninze Esq. reminded us of the immortal words of the late, eminent jurist, Hon. Justice Niki Tobi. While delivering his judgment in the landmark election case of Buhari v. Yar’Adua nineteen years ago, Justice Tobi looked at the trajectory of the bench and foresaw the exact calamity that would befall the Nigerian Judiciary if it allowed itself to be infiltrated by the political class.
In a powerful, extensive dictum, he dedicated a message directly to his colleagues on the bench—a warning that, tragically, seems to have fallen on deaf ears today.
The Timeless Dictum: Bias vs. Impartiality
Justice Tobi laid bare the fundamental incompatibility of the two professions, stating unequivocally that their waters must never mix:
“I see from Exhibit EP2/34 the need for Nigerian Judges to maintain a very big distance from politics and politicians. Our Constitution forbids any mingling. As Judges, we must obey the Constitution.
The two professions do not meet and will never meet at all in our democracy in the discharge of their functions. While politics as a profession is fully and totally based on partiality, most of the time, judgeship as a profession is fully and totally based on impartiality, the opposite of partiality.
Bias is the trademark of politicians. Non-bias is the trademark of the Judge. That again creates a scenario of superlatives in the realm of opposites. Therefore the expressions, ‘politician’ and ‘Judge’ are opposites… Their waters never meet in the same way Rivers Niger and Benue meet at the confluence near Lokoja.
If they meet, the victim will be democracy most of the time and that will be bad for sovereign Nigeria.”
The Danger of Dancing to a Politician’s Tune
Justice Tobi did not mince words about the consequences of judges fraternizing with the political elite. While acknowledging that politicians are our brothers, sisters, and “jolly good fellows” who are essential to democracy, he drew a hard, uncompromising line on professional boundaries:
“And so Judges should, on no account, dance to the music played by politicians because that will completely destroy their role as independent umpires in the judicial process. Let no Judge flirt with politicians in the performance of their constitutional adjudicatory functions…
The only point I am making is that their professional tools are different from ours and the Nigerian Judge should know this before he finds himself or falls into a mirage where he cannot retrace his steps to administer justice. That type of misfortune can fall on him if the National Judicial Council gets annoyed of his conduct.”
19 Years Later: Did We Listen?
As Aninze rightly points out, this profound advice was delivered nearly two decades ago, yet it feels as though it was written this morning.
As we inch closer to the 2027 elections, the judiciary finds itself under immense public scrutiny. The integrity of our democratic process relies entirely on an independent umpire. When the bench becomes an extension of the political establishment, the ultimate victim is not just the opposing party—it is sovereign Nigeria herself.
Justice Niki Tobi concluded his legendary warning with a simple, final thought:
“Ours are not theirs. Theirs are not ours. I will not say more. I will not say less too. So be it.”
For the sake of our democracy, it is time the current judiciary takes these words out of the archives and puts them back into practice.