Nigeria and its high cost of justice

A few years ago, someone I know reported a criminal offence to the police, believing, as any responsible citizen should, that reporting a crime was the first step towards justice. He expected the police to investigate, identify the offender and, where appropriate, prosecute. What he did not expect was the financial burden that followed.

At almost every stage, money was requested. Money to move the case forward. Money for transportation. Money for investigation. Money for other things that should ordinarily be part of policing. The demands became so persistent that the complainant eventually abandoned the case. The state, represented by the police, is known as the prosecutor of criminal cases.

The irony was painful: he had reported a crime committed against him, yet pursuing justice became another burden imposed on him. This raises a fundamental question: How expensive is justice in Nigeria, and who can afford it?

Justice is supposed to be one of the cheapest commodities in a democratic society – not because it has no cost, but because access to it should not depend on the size of one’s bank account, political connections or social status.

Yet for many Nigerians, the journey from reporting an offence to obtaining justice can be financially, emotionally and psychologically exhausting.

There are also disturbing situations in which a complainant who approaches the police to report an offence can suddenly find himself or herself being treated as a suspect or defendant. Instead of being protected by the system, the person becomes entangled in it. Fear replaces confidence, and many citizens simply walk away.

Then comes the perennial question: Is bail really free?

In principle, the law provides safeguards around arrest, detention and bail. In practice, however, Nigerians frequently tell stories of money being demanded before someone can secure what should be a lawful process. Where money changes hands to secure liberty, justice becomes transactional. The consequences go far beyond individual cases.

When citizens lose confidence in the police, they stop reporting crimes. When victims stop reporting crimes, criminals become emboldened. When witnesses withdraw because they cannot afford the process, prosecutions collapse. When cases remain unresolved for years, people begin to conclude that the law is only effective against those without influence.

“The perception that powerful people can escape consequences while ordinary citizens face the full weight of the law is corrosive. It destroys the moral authority of the state.”

And this is where Nigeria’s justice problem becomes particularly troubling.

A petty thief can be arrested, detained and prosecuted with remarkable speed, while a politically connected person accused of a far more serious offence can deploy lawyers, relationships, influence and procedural manoeuvres to remain outside the reach of effective justice.

This is not an argument against due process. Every accused person deserves a fair hearing. The issue is whether the quality and speed of justice should depend on wealth and influence.

The perception that powerful people can escape consequences while ordinary citizens face the full weight of the law is corrosive. It destroys the moral authority of the state.

The problem is not uniquely Nigerian. Across Africa, citizens complain about the cost, delay and inequality of justice. A 2026 Afrobarometer survey across 38 African countries found that only half of respondents, on average, believed ordinary citizens could obtain justice in the courts; only 43% believed cases would be resolved within a reasonable time, while 59% believed people were often or always treated unequally under the law.

Kenya, for example, continues to struggle with legal costs, delays and limited access to legal aid, although it has introduced mechanisms such as mobile courts and alternative dispute resolution to improve accessibility. A recent Afrobarometer survey found that only 47% of Kenyans believed they could afford to take a legal problem to court.

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Nigeria’s challenge is therefore part of a wider African justice deficit. But that should not become an excuse for complacency.

Interestingly, data on public legal-aid expenditure reveal just how little many African countries invest in making justice accessible. An earlier UNODC comparative study put Nigeria’s legal-aid expenditure at only US0.01percapita,comparedwithUS2 in the United States, US9inCanadaandUS38 in the United Kingdom. The figures are dated and should not be treated as current spending levels, but they illustrate the scale of the structural gap.

Even wealthy countries are not immune. England and Wales, for example, have experienced severe court backlogs and rising delays, demonstrating that justice systems require continuous investment, not merely good laws. So, what should Nigeria do?

First, policing must become genuinely citizen-centred. Reporting a crime should not become an economic burden on the victim. Police stations should have transparent processes for complaints, investigations and case tracking.

Second, all legitimate police-related payments should be transparent and received. Where the government requires money for a legitimate service, the citizen should know what it is for, how much it costs and where the money goes. Unofficial payments must become prosecutable misconduct.

Third, bail procedures should be digitised and monitored. A citizen should be able to know the legal basis for bail, the responsible authority and the conditions attached to it. There should be clear channels for reporting extortion.

Fourth, Nigeria needs a much stronger legal-aid system. Justice cannot be reserved for people who can afford expensive lawyers. The poor deserve competent representation too.

Fifth, we must invest in technology and case management. Cases should be trackable from complaint to investigation, prosecution and judgement. Digital records can reduce lost files, unnecessary adjournments and opportunities for manipulation.

Sixth, the judiciary must continue strengthening judicial independence, accountability and efficiency. The judiciary cannot be perceived as an arena where connections determine outcomes. Recent concerns about corruption and political interference demonstrate why institutional safeguards matter.

Finally, Nigeria must confront the culture of influence. Political connections should never become an alternative justice system.

For a country as diverse as Nigeria, justice is more than a legal concept. It is a nation-building instrument. In a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-dimensional society, citizens may disagree about politics, religion, ethnicity and ideology, but they must be able to agree on one thing: the law will protect me if I am right, and it will hold me accountable if I am wrong. That is the foundation of social trust.

A society in which the poor believe the law protects only the powerful will eventually lose respect for the law itself. A society in which criminals believe connections can save them will continue to produce criminals. And a society in which victims believe justice is too expensive to pursue will produce silence where there should be accountability.

This is why Nigeria must reduce the cost of justice, not simply the financial cost, but the cost in time, fear, frustration and lost confidence.

Justice delayed is justice denied. But justice that is too expensive to pursue is also justice denied.

The ultimate test of Nigeria’s justice system should be brutally simple: can an ordinary citizen walk into a police station without money or influence, report a crime, receive protection, follow the case, obtain competent legal representation where necessary, and ultimately receive justice?

If the answer is not yet an unequivocal yes, then our work of nation-building remains unfinished.

And perhaps this is one of the greatest leadership challenges before Nigeria: to build a country where justice is not a privilege of the connected but a right of every citizen.

Babs Olugbemi, FCCA, is the Chief Vision Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited and the founder of Positive Growth Africa. He can be reached at [email protected] or 07064176953 or on X @Successbabs. Uplifting Leadership with Babs