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.
