Pastor Bakare calls on lawyers to emulate Gani Fawehinmi, decries “marketplace” judiciary

Pastor Tunde Bakare, founder of the Citadel Global Community Church, has called on Nigerian lawyers and judges to follow the example of the late legal icon Chief Gani Fawehinmi to restore integrity and public trust in the justice system.

Bakare issued this charge while delivering the keynote speech at the 22nd Chief Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture, organized by the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch.

The former lawyer, who once worked under Fawehinmi, warned that the judiciary is mired in a deep crisis of corruption and ethical decay, with political influence, bribery, and selective justice undermining its role.

Citing a report by the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, he revealed that about N3.7 billion was offered as bribes to judges between 2018 and 2020, and that over 70% of falsified court documents involved lawyers and court staff.

“The judiciary has become a marketplace where justice is for sale to the highest bidder,” Bakare stated.

He further noted that 34 out of 62 lawyers recently nominated for judicial appointments failed integrity tests, raising serious concerns about the quality of those ascending to the bench.

Drawing from his personal experience, Bakare highlighted Fawehinmi’s core values of punctuality, diligence, courage, and responsibility.

He emphasized that these traits are essential for reversing the integrity deficit in the courts.

Bakare stressed that restoring judicial integrity requires both personal responsibility from legal practitioners and structural reforms, including financial independence for the judiciary, proper housing for judges, and annual data-driven evaluations of judicial conduct.

Linking the crisis in the justice sector to broader national failures in governance and security, Bakare urged the bar and the bench to reclaim their moral authority.

“It is time for the bar and the bench to emulate his values and restore the judiciary to its rightful place as the last resort of the oppressed and the protector of the innocent,” he said.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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