Law teacher and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has triggered a nationwide debate after accusing Nigeria’s top judiciary of aligning with the ruling All Progressives Congress during the opening of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference.
In a post on X, Odinkalu described the moment judges rose to the tune of “On Your Mandate We Shall Stand” as “the moment when Nigeria’s senior-most judges, led by CJN Kekere-Ekun, officially decamped to APC.”
The conference, held at the National Judicial Institute in Abuja, drew more than 1,000 judicial officers from across the country. President Bola Tinubu, who opened the event on November 17, urged judges to maintain integrity and reject “justice for sale.”
However, controversy erupted moments after the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, delivered a speech championing judicial independence.
As Tinubu entered the hall, a rendition of the APC campaign anthem filled the venue, prompting rows of judges to rise, clap and sway — a scene captured in widely shared video footage.
The anthem, popular during Tinubu’s 2023 campaign, was sung with visible enthusiasm by attendees as security personnel ushered the president into the hall. The display sharply contrasted with the CJN’s earlier warning that the judiciary must resist external influence and protect public trust.
Reacting online, Odinkalu said he initially dismissed the reports as rumour. “The CJN spent her speech preaching judicial independence. After she was done, the judges did ‘On Your Mandate We Shall Stand.’ They will not be able to blame any Navy Lt. for this one!” he wrote, referencing the recent Wike–Yerima confrontation.
He intensified his criticism the next morning, tying the moment to national grief. “On the day terrorists immolated a Nigerian General in Borno and abducted 25 female students in Kebbi, the C-in-C did not lower the flag. Rather he got judges to sing ‘On Your Mandate.’ Tueh!”
The post, accompanied by video clips, has drawn thousands of views and widespread condemnation.
Civil society leaders have also expressed dismay. Governance advocate Abdulherphyz wrote: “This isn’t what democracy is designed to be. Submitting all institutions to one individual will lead to perilous places.”
Across social media platforms, users lamented what they described as the judiciary’s “open partisanship,” with a trending Nairaland thread declaring the judiciary “gone” and “the last hope no more.”
But in a statement on Wednesday, the National Judicial Institute dismissed the reports as “misleading and inaccurate.”
According to the NJI, the only song sung collectively at the ceremony was the national anthem, performed at the start and end of the event. The institute said the tune “On Your Mandate” was played briefly by the Guards Brigade band as part of standard military protocol to usher the president to the podium.
The NJI insisted the judges stood only out of respect for the office of the President, not as a show of political allegiance. “No judge sang or chanted any political song,” the institute said, stressing that the judiciary remains “strictly non-partisan, deeply committed to constitutional neutrality, and insulated from political activities.”
The controversy continues to fuel heated debate about the independence of Nigeria’s judiciary and its relationship with the executive branch.
