Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed deep concern over what he described as the Nigerian judiciary’s obsession with procedural technicalities at the expense of substantive justice.
Speaking on Thursday in Ilorin, Kwara State, during the second Professor Yusuf Ali Annual Lecture organized by Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Osinbajo — a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Professor of Law — called for urgent reforms within the justice system.
According to him, the primary aim of any judicial process should be to serve the people and uphold fairness, not to glorify procedural rigidity or exploit legal loopholes.
“The essence of justice is not in the form but in the substance. Unfortunately, many of our court decisions, including some of those delivered by the Supreme Court, tend to focus more on procedure rather than the core issues of justice,” he said.
Citing examples from other countries, Osinbajo noted that English courts, from which Nigeria’s legal traditions were derived, have evolved beyond rigid proceduralism by permitting amendments at any stage of proceedings to ensure justice is served.
He warned that the judiciary’s fixation on outdated technicalities not only slows down the dispensation of justice but also erodes public trust in the system.
“In view of this, I urge legal practitioners, academics, and policymakers to engage in critical and decolonised thinking towards reforming our legal education, legal practice, and overall administration of justice,” Osinbajo stated.
While acknowledging that the Supreme Court has occasionally demonstrated flexibility, particularly in electoral dispute cases, the former Vice President lamented the inconsistency in applying such principles.
“It is important to understand that a justice system which continues to glorify form over substance risks losing both its relevance and its moral authority,” he concluded.
