Soyinka decries failure to enforce court judgments

• Akpabio, Abbas, Akume, Anyaoku seek stronger public institutions • PCC receives 1.2m complaints, resolves over 700,000 in two years

From **Okwe Obi, **Abuja

Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka has decried Nigeria’s failure to enforce court judgments, warning that favourable rulings offer little relief when beneficiaries cannot enjoy the fruits of justice.

Speaking at the first Nigerian Annual Ombudsman Conference in Abuja yesterday, Soyinka urged the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) to address the persistent gap between judicial pronouncements and their implementation.

“I would like to see these judgments implemented. I would like to see justice delivered, not merely pronounced,” he said.

His call came as Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas; Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume; and former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku called for stronger, transparent and accountable institutions to promote good governance and protect citizens from administrative injustice.

The conference had the theme, “System Building and Compliance: Key Factors to Good Governance.”

Soyinka said some Nigerians had died without benefiting from judgments delivered in their favour, citing cases in which orders to restore passports allegedly took years to implement.

“Why is it, for instance, that we cannot guarantee the implementation of a court judgment? Why is there such a disconnect between the plaintiff, the judgment itself, the judges, the entire structure of justice, and the victim who has sought justice?” he asked.

Describing delayed implementation as “medicine after death,” he urged the commission to bridge the gap between court decisions and those entitled to benefit from them.

He also questioned why judgments on disputed land could be disregarded, allowing individuals to resort to violence and destruction rather than comply with lawful decisions.

Akpabio, represented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, Senator Neda Imasuen, said building stable, transparent, accountable and effective institutions, regardless of their leadership, remained a fundamental governance challenge.

“Our collective objective must therefore be to move progressively from personality-driven institutions to system-driven institutions,” he said.

He stressed the need to embed compliance in institutional culture and accountability structures, noting that the PCC gave citizens a channel to challenge unlawful, unfair, oppressive or unreasonable administrative actions and omissions.

Abbas, represented by the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, said the relationship between citizens and the state was rarely one between equals, making accessible redress mechanisms essential.

“Government institutions possess powers and resources that individual citizens may find difficult to challenge.

“An unexplained delay in the payment of a pension, an arbitrary administrative decision or the denial of a legitimate entitlement can impose serious hardship on an individual.

“The Public Complaints Commission provides an important avenue for addressing such grievances and ensuring that administrative authority is exercised fairly and responsibly,” he said.

In a video message, Akume said good governance required credible, transparent and accountable institutions capable of meeting citizens’ legitimate expectations.

“Complaints should not be viewed merely as criticism of government. They are also valuable sources of information for identifying institutional weaknesses, improving administrative processes and preventing the recurrence of systemic failures,” he said.

Anyaoku called for greater public awareness of the Ombudsman’s services, describing them as an avenue for ordinary Nigerians to seek redress for unfair treatment.

He cited unpaid gratuities and pensions owed to retired or dismissed employees, as well as inadequate care in public and private hospitals, as examples of failures that could leave citizens aggrieved.

“In our relatively litigious society, which Nigeria is, I would like to stress the need for the widest possible public awareness of the less expensive and less cumbersome facility provided by the Ombudsman, which serves as a refuge for the aggrieved common man and woman,” he said.

PCC Chief Commissioner Bashir Abubakar disclosed that the commission had received approximately 1.2 million complaints and resolved more than 700,000 cases in the past two years.

He compared this with the approximately 1.8 million complaints received and 1.4 million cases resolved during the commission’s first 50 years, describing the recent volume as overwhelming.

Abubakar credited President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly with helping address critical challenges facing the commission, saying their support had strengthened its capacity to fulfil its mandate.

He said the commission had engaged government institutions, relevant ministries and budget authorities while consulting lawmakers on issues affecting its effectiveness.

“The Presidency, in collaboration with the National Assembly, was able to quickly address part of our issues,” he said.

Abubakar thanked Tinubu, Akpabio, Abbas and other members of the National Assembly for their support.

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