How we cleaned up Lagos’ “notoriously corrupt” judiciary two decades ago and why it hasn’t worked today – Osinbajo

Yemi Osinbajo, former vice president of Nigeria, has shared an account of how, as Attorney General of Lagos state from 1997 to 2007, his department undertook a radical judicial sector reform that dropped the corruption rate within the state’s courts.

At the 30th anniversary of the National Integrity Conference in Lagos, Osinbajo, the co-founder, recounted a 1999 survey where 89 percent of 200 lawyers practising in the Lagos High Court perceived Lagos judges as “notoriously corrupt,” yet no judicial officer had been reprimanded for corruption since the state’s founding in 1967. “Not sacked, not dismissed, just warned for a corrupt act,” he said.

During a conversation with the senior judges, Osinbajo came to terms with the reality. “My meeting with the seven most senior judges in the judiciary at the time was to even find out what exactly the problems were and what we needed.”

The first problem he found was remuneration. “At the time, they were earning N67,000 a month (Estimated between $705 and $728 at the time” he said. “Certainly it doesn’t compare to N67,000 today, but it was still very poor.”

On this salary, he found that some of the judges had children schooling both abroad and also in Nigeria’s biggest schools, paying as much as $12,000 in tuition fees.

“One of them tapped me on the shoulder and said, learned attorney you too know that this thing we are doing is rubbish. You know for sure that there’s no way N67,000 will simply send the child to a university in the U.S. and another one in the University of Lagos.”

Another judge narrated how his daughter was admitted to the hospital only after whom he later discovered to be the plaintiff paid the N17,000 demanded by the hospital, trapping him between the vicious choice of integrity and his child’s survival.

“So it was evident to all of us sitting around the table that we needed to deal with some of the issues that contribute to corruption or that push people to corrupt activity.”

The resolutions led to a decision on three major areas. The first being the appointment of judges.

“The process was made merit-based. We then started conducting competency tests to make sure that if you’re going to be a judge, you must also be competent. We didn’t allow a man-no-man situation,” the former VP said, adding that candidates required character references from the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

“So if we nominate you as a judge, the NBA must also tell us, the Lagos Bar must tell us if this person is of integrity, of competence.”

He said that in 2001, the department appointed 26 new judges from diverse backgrounds. “The majority of them who were appointed at the time were very young, were bright, already in legal practice, in academia, or legal advisors to companies. Two-thirds of them were females. Because we were under the impression that if you appoint females, they are less likely to be corrupt than men.”

The next focus was remuneration. “To address judges’ complaints around compensation, we brought in human resource experts to assess what would be a living wage for judges.”

Judges’ salaries were quadrupled (to N268,000 or $2,920) and a policy handing out “comfortable” homes to every judge in Lagos state was enforced.

“When you are appointed a judge, they give you a home that is yours for life. You choose where you want the home whether it’s in places where we have land at the time, Lekki, Ikoyi or Ikeja.” Judges were also entitled to cars to be replaced every four years.

The final reform lever was accountability and discipline. “We established an independent process for investigating corruption with the National Judicial Council taking charge, avoiding local interference.”

He said that in the first year of the reform, the committee had sacked 22 magistrates for corrupt practices. Three judges were also sacked on the recommendation of the National Judiciary Council (NJC).

“Any case of corruption was simply referred to the NJC, and we voted for a recommendation, and we abided by whatever that recommendation was.”

Come back to read: Justice at risk as corruption cripples Nigeria’s legal profession, says Osinbajo

Osinbajo says the reforms were successful. “By the year 2000, a follow-up survey was done on 200 lawyers. Just the same survey we did in 1999. Zero percent of lawyers at the time perceived the judiciary as corrupt. Zero percent from 89 percent.”

However, two decades later, the victory in Lagos State remains an isolated triumph against a national challenge. Nigeria continues to battle systemic corruption that locks out the majority of its over 220 million people from essential public benefits.

A 2024 Transparency International report showed that 43 percent of Nigerians thought corruption increased in the previous 12 months and 44 percent of public service users paid a bribe in the months recorded.

Also, the 2025 Transparency and Integrity Index (TII) revealed that only six out of 517 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) met the minimum benchmark for accountability in 2025, leaving 511 agencies nearly 99 percent stuck in what the report describes as the “red zone,” where lack of transparency, poor integrity measures, and weak compliance systems dominate.

The index also evaluated Nigeria’s 36 states based on financial transparency, open procurement, human resources, control of corruption and citizens’ engagement. None of the states scored 50 or above average. Lagos the commercial capital placed 31st.

“Many countries have dealt with systemic corruption and won. We’re no different. Our survival as a nation will depend on how we deal with corruption,” said Osinbajo who believes that reforms could work if the most powerful in the country want it to.

“Over the years, I’ve learned a few things about the fight. It is that we need the full, unwavering commitment of the political leadership, beginning from the very top, at every level, the president, governor, local governor, and ofcourse the minister. You must have the full and total commitment of the executive.”

Osinbajo, who served as Nigeria’s vice president under Muhammadu Buhari for 8 years from 2015, said that the executive must have a clear vision for what success in its anti-corruption program looks like, and must “sit with the judiciary and legislature to share that vision and get their buy-in.”

He also called for proper punishment for violators. “Everyone should know that there will be severe consequences for corruption,” he said, adding that the court system must be equipped to deal with corruption swiftly.

“Practice directions issued by our courts, by judges and Chief Justice of Nigeria must define how quickly and in what ways the courts must deal with cases of corruption,” he said.

Read also: Corruption and politics crippling Nigeria’s greatest asset

The former VP added said that there will be no correction without restitution.

“Corruption is an economic crime. The reason why people are corrupt is usually because they want to make money. And so, the process of reducing corruption means that you must also ensure that whatever a person steals is taken back. There must be restitution for whatever a person takes. You cannot simply slap someone on the wrist after they’ve stolen money and say, well, we dismiss you, go away.”

In addition to this, he said there must be a reduction of “the discretion of bureaucrats, especially with technology.”

According to him, “Corruption in the public service is not impossible to overcome. But much remains to be done. There’s a lot that we must do.”

Bethel Olujobi reports on trade and maritime business for BusinessDay with prior experience reporting on migration, labour, and tech. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication from the University of Jos, and is certified by the FT, Reuters and Google. Drawing from his experience working with other respected news providers, he presents a nuanced and informed perspective on the complexities of critical matters. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria and occasionally commutes to Abuja.

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