Former presidential candidate, Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, has praised former Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN, GCON) for his frank and patriotic critique of Nigeria’s judiciary, highlighting that “nigerian courts serve technicalities, not justice.”
On Saturday, October 11, 2025, in Port Harcourt, Adesanya-Davies, a university lecturer and experienced politician, described Osinbajo’s statement as “timely, courageous, and deeply reflective of the nation’s legal reality.”
She said, “It takes a man of truth, integrity, and courage to openly admit that our judicial system has lost focus and must return to its core mission, justice. I commend Professor Osinbajo for identifying what millions of Nigerians have long perceived, that our courts often dwell on procedural technicalities at the expense of truth, fairness, and substantive justice.”
Referring to Osinbajo’s speech at the Faculty of Law, Kwara State University, where he called for a “fundamental overhaul of Nigeria’s justice system,” Adesanya-Davies stressed that the judiciary is the last hope of ordinary citizens. “When justice is inaccessible or distorted by legal technicalities, the very fabric of democracy is threatened. I have witnessed numerous cases in Nigeria where procedural formalities overrode fairness and truth,” she noted.
She added, “It is disheartening that, after over six decades of independence, our legal system still relies on archaic colonial doctrines that prioritise form over substance. Justice delayed or denied through rigid technical procedures is a miscarriage of justice. We need a humanised, decolonised, and truly Nigerian approach to law.”
Professor Adesanya-Davies called on the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), and the National Assembly to take Osinbajo’s warnings seriously and initiate reforms in legal education, court administration, and judicial conduct.
She urged all stakeholders to embrace a system “that reflects fairness, equity, and the fear of God.”
“As a nation,” she concluded, “we must reform our courts to serve justice, not technicalities. Professor Osinbajo has spoken truth to power, and Nigeria must heed that truth for the sake of national integrity, peace, and progress.”
Signed:
Nuhu Agum SSA (PMACO)
For the Office of Professor Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies
Former Presidential Candidate | Scholar, Linguist, and Human Rights Advocate
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
