Former musician and TV personality, Charles Oputa, a.k.a Charly Boy says corruption has become Nigeria's "legal tandem."
He said his late father, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, will be cringing in his grave over the corruption in the nation's judiciary.
He said this in Lagos on Sunday, January 15, while speaking at the 13th Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual
Memorial lecture and symposium with the theme, "Nigeria Anti-Corruption
War: Whither The Legal Profession and The Judiciary?"
"The
masses are being corrupted by fear, my father, Justice Chukwudifu
Oputa, must be cringing in his grave because of what #he corruption in
the nation’s judiciary.
"Corruption has not just become our way of life in Nigeria, but has become our legal tandem.
"The
Nigerian people are being looted by all sides, religious leaders are
not helping the people, they are continuously hypnotising my people with
miracles, signs and wonders," he said.
Oputa,
who said corruption had reached an intolerable level, disclosed that he
was currently involved in an activism project designed to tackle
corruption and injustice in the country.
He said: "I
am involved in a street project titled, 'our mumu don do'; this is a
project through which I believe the judiciary can be cleansed of by a
movement led by the masses.
"Lawyers have
become contractors, judges have opened mega banks in their homes at
their villages, justice in Nigeria comes at a price."
Noting that not all members of the bar and bench are corrupt, he added: "Not
all members of the judiciary and legal profession are bad, but current
events have ridiculed the legacy left behind by my father and other
legal icons.
"The docility of the
Nigerian populace has to be addressed with the emancipation of their
minds because the humanity of Fawehinmi no longer exists in the
country."
Prof. Jacob Dada, a Justice of the Court of Appeal in the Gambia, in his speech, also said some members of the judiciary and legal profession have sabotaged the war against corruption.
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