Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), may have recorded many court victories due to his gestures to judicial officials at the state and federal levels, a Citizens’ Gavel analysis has shown.

Citizens’ Gavel, a judicial civil society organisation, published the results of its October analysis in a report titled: Nyesom Wike’s Judicial Influence: Correlation or Coincidence?

Gavel’s analysis considered 15 legal cases involving Wike.

In the 15 cases considered, the analysis noted that Wike had only lost one, giving him a 93.3% win rate.

Gavel also noted that Wike’s legal victories were significantly higher when compared to other political figures like Muhammadu Buhari and Kayode Fayemi who lost many cases in court.

Unlike Wike, Buhari and Fayemi did not allocate significant resources to the judiciary while they occupied political offices.

Some of the suspicious gestures Wike extended to the judiciary as highlighted in the report include 29 new SUVs to magistrates in Rivers State while he was governor, allocation of lands to the Abuja Federal High Court judges as FCT minister and building of 40 houses for judicial officials amongst others.

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One of the significant court cases involving Wike was Celestine Omehia v River State Government.

In that case, Omehia went to court to determine whether he was a former governor of Rivers in order to establish his entitlements as a former governor.

The Wike-led Rivers state government argued that Omehia was not a former governor. Wike’s government won the case despite him earlier recognising Omehia as former governor in 2015.

Another possible correlation between Wike’s frequent court wins and his generosity to the judiciary, according to the analysis, was the presence of the FCT minister’s allies in the judiciary.

“His sister-in-law, Lesley Nkesi Belema Wike, is a Judge of the FCT High Court, and his kinsman, Justice Simeon Amadi, is the current Chief Judge of Rivers State. Additionally, the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kayode Olu Ariwoola, is reportedly his ally,” Gavel’s analysis read.

Gavel’s analysis concluded that the lavish gifts Wike gives judges raise concerns about the executive’s influence on the judiciary which ought to be independent.

As public trust in the judiciary drops, Gavel states that an executive’s extensive and focused support for judicial officials strengthens doubts in courts’ impartiality.

“Wike has consistently won almost all cases involving him, with a few notable exceptions where he faced interlocutory appeals. These victories, juxtaposed with the extensive support he has extended towards the judiciary, provide fertile ground for the hypothesis that such interventions may contribute to his favourable legal outcomes,” the analysis concluded.

“Moreover, the perception of judicial partiality is deeply concerning, especially in a democracy where the independence of the judiciary is paramount. The executive’s significant influence on the judiciary through lavish gifts, infrastructure support, and other forms of aid risks compromising judicial impartiality and eroding public trust.”