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THE SULTAN’S CALL FOR JUSTICE
A legal system that tolerates corruption or inequality cannot sustain a moral order, argues
PAT ONUKWULI
At the opening of the Nigerian Bar Association’s 67th Annual General Conference in Enugu, His Eminence, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of Sokoto, delivered a timely address that underscores the urgent need for reflection within Nigeria’s legal profession. At the gathering, the Sultan challenged lawyers to reclaim justice from corruption and privilege, making it clear that his intervention was not merely ceremonial but a substantive contribution to the national discourse on law, governance, and justice.
The Sultan began by affirming his comfort among lawyers, describing them as “learned people,” a designation he traced to the primacy of learning in both religion and society. He drew on the Islamic tradition, where the first divine command was an injunction to read, and on the teachings of Usman dan Fodio, who described a person without learning as comparable to a country without inhabitants. His point was clear: the pursuit of knowledge is foundational to leadership, governance, and the administration of justice.
He emphasised that learning and law are inextricably linked, and that the qualities of a good leader encompass both a passion for education and a willingness to listen. Governance and the settlement of disputes, he argued, cannot succeed without deep intellectual grounding. This insistence places lawyers and the legal profession at the centre of Nigeria’s broader struggle with justice and governance.
The Sultan identified the annual gathering of the NBA as particularly significant, describing it as the largest congregation of learned minds in the country. He noted that it is not merely a professional assembly, but a platform with the potential to shape society. In that context, the theme of the conference, “Stand Out, Stand Tall,” was, in his view, apt. Lawyers, he stated, must not confine themselves to technicalities of procedure but must see their profession as a form of activism in defence of justice.
At the heart of his speech was a critique of the increasing commodification of justice in Nigeria. He pointed to a growing reality in which justice is accessible mainly to the wealthy, while the poor and vulnerable are left at the mercy of miscarriages of justice. He decried the situation in which individuals of means can evade accountability, regardless of the severity of their crimes. At the same time, those without resources face the full weight of the law, even for minor infractions. This imbalance, he insisted, represents a fundamental distortion of the legal order.
Citing Qur’an 4:135, the Sultan reinforced the ethical imperative of impartial justice. The verse enjoins believers to stand firmly for justice, even against themselves or their relatives, and regardless of whether the parties involved are rich or poor. In his view, this injunction captures the very essence of the lawyer’s responsibility in society: to act without fear or favour, and to ensure that the law does not become an instrument of oppression or privilege.
From antiquity, philosophers have argued that justice is the highest good sustaining society. Plato, in The Republic, saw it as each part of the state fulfilling its role. At the same time, Aristotle, in his Nicomachean Ethics, held that law should cultivate virtue, not merely restrain wrongdoing. Modern thinker John Rawls echoed this in his Theory of Justice, calling justice the first virtue of institutions and permitting inequalities only if they benefit the least advantaged. These views align with the Sultan’s reminder that learning and justice are inseparable: without knowledge, justice is arbitrary; without justice, knowledge is purposeless. A legal system that tolerates corruption or inequality cannot sustain a moral order.
The Sultan further reminded lawyers of their duty to hold political leaders accountable. He emphasised that governance crises in Nigeria persist essentially because many in positions of authority act above the law. If the law were applied consistently and equally, he argued, many of the country’s governance challenges would be substantially mitigated. The responsibility of the legal profession, therefore, is not only to interpret the law but to insist on its supremacy over all persons, regardless of office or influence.
In Greek mythology, Themis, the goddess of justice, symbolised fairness and impartiality, reminding the ancients that without justice, society collapses into chaos. The Sultan’s insistence that law and learning must serve justice echoes this tradition, placing on the Nigerian legal profession the responsibility of ensuring justice remains the foundation of governance. To neglect this duty is to endanger both the law and societal stability.
To guide the NBA’s deliberations, the Sultan highlighted three urgent priorities: law reform, to modernise Nigeria’s outdated legal framework and keep it effective; social justice, to address the widening gap between the affluent and the underprivileged, echoing John Rawls’s principle that inequalities are acceptable only if they benefit the least advantaged; and access to justice, to ensure the poor are not excluded from the legal system by financial, procedural, or institutional barriers. These priorities, consistent with both Rawls’s idea of “justice as fairness” and the Islamic injunction of impartial justice, underscore the responsibility of lawyers to protect the vulnerable and uphold the legitimacy of the legal system.
According to the World Justice Project’s 2023 Rule of Law Index, Nigeria ranked 120th out of 142 countries, reflecting deep deficiencies in the accessibility and fairness of its justice system. Studies by the Nigerian Bar Association and legal aid groups show that more than 70 per cent of inmates in correctional facilities are awaiting trial, many for years and often for minor offences. The Legal Aid Council, chronically underfunded, is unable to provide adequate representation, leaving millions without recourse to justice. For people with low incomes, the costs of litigation, court delays, and systemic corruption create almost insurmountable barriers to securing their rights.
Against this backdrop, the Sultan’s message is not one of comfort but of challenge, and the urgency of his charge cannot be overstated. At a time when public confidence in institutions is faltering and perceptions of inequality before the law are deepening, silence or inaction on the part of the legal profession amounts to complicity. Law reform, social justice, and access to justice are not abstract ideals for academic forums; they are imperatives that will determine whether Nigeria advances as a society governed by laws or collapses into one ruled by privilege and impunity.
The NBA must therefore assume a more proactive role, not only in technical advocacy but also in shaping public morality through the defence of justice. The Sultan has spoken; the question remains whether Nigeria’s lawyers will answer his call for justice with action, not words.
Dr. Onukwuli, a legal scholar and public affairs analyst, writes from Bolton, UK.
