° Calls for review of criminal probes to curb ‘systemic abuse’ of justice system
A legal practitioner, Abu Arome, has recounted what he described as an emotionally draining and deeply troubling experience representing his non-Nigerian clients in a longstanding land dispute, accusing a “notorious land predator” of orchestrating “systemic manipulation and the weaponization of government institutions.” In his account titled ‘My Odyssey: Battling Land Grabbers in the Pursuit of Justice’, Arome noted that the matter began “as many civil matters do,” when his clients turned to the courts in September 2024 to challenge “an unlawful encroachment on their property.” Instead of pursuing the dispute through legal channels, he said, the opposing party responded with “criminal allegations aimed at intimidating, discrediting, and ultimately dispossessing my clients.”
Describing what he called a “deeper, more systemic rot,” Arome revealed that for over 13 years, no allegations of forgery had ever been raised against his clients until they took steps to protect their interests. “That changed immediately after they dared to protect what was lawfully theirs,” he said. Beyond his clients, Arome himself was later accused in connection with events “allegedly committed in 2009 and 2013, years during which I was still a university student. Imagine that!” Expressing concern over the wider impact on public trust, he observed: “Worst of all, I have seen how society, our media, our public institutions, and even many of our colleagues accept these injustices without scrutiny,” adding that, “The press, hungry for scandal and funded by the highest bidder, publishes unverified allegations as if they were proven facts.”
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Calling for institutional reforms to safeguard the justice system, Arome proposed that “The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) should, by law, be required to review ALL criminal investigations before any trial is initiated.” He stressed that “our justice system cannot be great if the innocent must suffer to prove their innocence, or if lawyers are punished for standing on the side of truth.” Framing the dispute as symbolic of wider challenges in Nigeria’s legal landscape, he concluded: “The fight for justice, in this case, is no longer just about land. It is about the soul of our legal system… May truth prevail: May Nigeria be great again.”
