Nigeria’s Justice System Must Never Be Surrendered To The Court Of Social Media -By Kelvin Adegbenga

Nigeria stands today at a defining moment in the administration of criminal justice. The growing tendency by certain social media personalities to investigate, prosecute and convict individuals through carefully choreographed online campaigns poses a grave threat to the rule of law and the constitutional institutions entrusted with dispensing justice.

If this dangerous trend is left unchecked, it risks replacing due process with digital populism and legal evidence with viral content.

It is against this backdrop that the recent position of the Nigeria Police Force Headquarters regarding the controversy surrounding the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, AIG Moshood Olohundare Jimoh, deserves strong public support.

The Force has demonstrated commendable professionalism by refusing to allow the nation’s criminal justice process to be dictated by the loudest voices on social media rather than by the Constitution and the law.

The Nigeria Police Force must equally be commended for resisting every attempt by non-state actors to usurp the constitutional responsibilities of law enforcement agencies and the judiciary under the guise of social media activism.

Democracy undoubtedly thrives on public scrutiny of government institutions, but criminal investigations and judicial proceedings must never be reduced to content creation, sensational livestreams or orchestrated online campaigns designed to secure convictions before the commencement—or conclusion—of lawful proceedings.

The Constitution guarantees every Nigerian, irrespective of status or occupation, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty before a competent court of law. That constitutional protection extends to AIG Moshood Olohundare Jimoh just as it applies to every citizen.

Allegations, regardless of how emotionally compelling they may appear on social media, remain allegations until they are tested through credible investigation and subjected to judicial scrutiny.

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, has demonstrated institutional maturity by refusing to surrender Nigeria’s criminal justice process to the court of social media.

His decision underscores an important constitutional principle: law enforcement remains the exclusive responsibility of legally recognised institutions, not individuals seeking to influence public opinion through sensational online campaigns.

No democratic society can permit criminal justice to be outsourced to social media influencers, however influential or popular they may be.

The administration of justice is governed by evidence, procedure and the rule of law—not by online polls, trending hashtags or the number of followers a content creator commands.

This is why the social media content creator, Martins Vincent Otse, should now publicly provide verifiable evidence supporting the allegations he has made against the Nigeria Police Force and AIG Moshood Olohundare Jimoh in relation to the prosecution of Tajudeen Akanbi over the alleged killing of victims in the Ajiran community.

Making grave accusations against senior law enforcement officials carries corresponding civic responsibilities. Anyone circulating official documents, confidential correspondence or investigative materials on social media must equally disclose the authentic source of those materials.

Accountability cannot be demanded from public institutions while the origin of leaked confidential documents remains deliberately concealed. Transparency must apply to everyone.

If Martins Vincent Otse genuinely possesses credible evidence capable of establishing misconduct by police officers, there already exist constitutionally recognised institutions empowered to receive such evidence.

Those materials should be submitted to the appropriate investigative authorities and the competent court handling the matter, where they can be subjected to forensic examination, cross-examination and judicial evaluation. Selectively releasing documents on social media while withholding them from investigators serves neither justice nor accountability.

Even more troubling is the continued circulation of confidential investigative materials relating to an ongoing criminal trial. Such unauthorised disclosures have the potential to prejudice judicial proceedings, compromise witnesses, undermine ongoing investigations and erode public confidence in the administration of justice.

Confidential investigative records are protected for compelling legal and public interest reasons, not to shield wrongdoing but to preserve the integrity of criminal proceedings.

The Nigeria Police Force should therefore immediately commence a comprehensive internal investigation to identify every officer or individual responsible for leaking official case materials connected with the matter.

Any officer found to have unlawfully disclosed confidential investigative documents should face appropriate disciplinary and, where applicable, criminal sanctions.

The integrity of criminal investigations depends largely on the ability of security agencies to protect sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure.

The prosecution of Tajudeen Akanbi over the alleged Ajiran killings must ultimately rise or fall on admissible evidence presented before a competent court of law. It must not be influenced by intimidation, rented crowds assembled outside courtrooms, coordinated media campaigns, emotional pressure or orchestrated attempts to manipulate public sentiment against any party involved in the proceedings.

Justice cannot flourish where social media determines guilt before investigators conclude their work. Courts cannot function effectively when judges, prosecutors, investigators and witnesses are subjected to relentless online pressure calculated to influence judicial outcomes.

Nigeria’s democracy will suffer immeasurably if constitutional institutions begin to take instructions from trending conversations instead of the law.

All stakeholders must therefore resist the temptation to weaponise social media against the administration of justice. The Nigeria Police Force must investigate without fear or favour. Relevant oversight authorities must exercise their statutory responsibilities independently.

Above all, the judiciary must remain free to decide cases solely on the strength of admissible evidence and the applicable law.

History has consistently shown that societies governed by public hysteria rather than legal process seldom produce justice. They produce persecution.

The true measure of a democratic society is not how loudly accusations are made but how faithfully the law protects both the accuser and the accused. Protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s justice system demands equal respect for the rights of victims seeking justice, suspects awaiting trial, law enforcement officers performing their constitutional duties and every other participant in the criminal justice process.

The rule of law cannot coexist with trial by social media. One must prevail. For the sake of Nigeria’s constitutional democracy, it must always be the rule of law.

This version is more assertive, adopts the tone of a national newspaper op-ed, and ends with quotable lines that reinforce the central argument while maintaining a focus on constitutional principles and due process.

Kelvin Adegbenga writes from Wuse 2, Abuja. Email: kelvinadegbenga@yahoo.com