The presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has pledged to reform Nigeria’s criminal justice system if elected president in 2027, accusing the current system of favouring wealthy offenders and corrupt public officials at the expense of the poor.
Adebayo said the existing system allows influential individuals to evade justice while people accused of minor offences face harsh punishments.
He spoke on Thursday in Lagos during the annual lecture organised by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights, with the theme “Understanding Human Rights Beyond Emotions and Personal Interests.”
His address, titled “The Counter-Intuitive Architecture of Human Rights,” was delivered on his behalf by his campaign’s Chief Media Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, at the Airport Hotel, Ikeja.
“It’s just unfortunate that those who administer Nigeria’s criminal justice system are often adjudged, rightly or wrongly, criminals by the society,” Adebayo said.
He argued that the perception had weakened public confidence in the justice system and encouraged people to take the law into their own hands.
“This diminishes trust in the system and consequently creates a dangerous culture of self-help because the current system helps rich criminals and corrupt public officials to escape justice while the innocent or a petty criminal who steals a one thousand naira bread is sentenced to 10 years in jail. The one who steals trillions from the treasury is taken to and from court in luxury jeeps.
“Our administration will overhaul Nigeria’s criminal system in a way that ensures equal delivery of justice, punishes criminals and protects the innocent and the poor. We cannot have a criminal justice system run by criminals,” he said.
The SDP candidate maintained that human rights must be upheld even when defending them is unpopular, stressing that such rights are not privileges awarded for good behaviour but safeguards against arbitrary power.
To support his argument, Adebayo cited John Adams’ defence of British soldiers following the 1770 Boston Massacre, Jewish lawyers who defended Nazi sympathisers, and defence lawyers at the Yugoslavia war crimes tribunal.
He argued that protecting due process, even for those considered the worst offenders, was essential to safeguarding the rights of innocent people.
“The true metric of a society’s commitment to human rights is not how it treats its saints, but how it treats its perceived monsters,” he said.
Adebayo also urged civil society organisations to move beyond what he described as “prebendal activism” and pay greater attention to challenges such as out-of-school children, electoral manipulation and the suppression of protests.
He maintained that human rights advocates must defend justice consistently, regardless of the individuals or groups involved.
“If Chief Gani Fawehinmi were alive today and Babangida were to suffer unjust treatment, Gani would be the first to stand in his defence,” Adebayo said.
The SDP presidential candidate also accused the current administration of establishing a “comprehensive rigging machine” ahead of the 2027 general election, alleging that it lacked the performance record needed to secure victory at the polls.