Lawyer and human rights advocate, Femi Falana, SAN, has criticised the practice of state governors procuring cars and building official residences for judges, saying it undermines the independence and autonomy of the judiciary.

Falana, SAN, stated this while delivering the 2026 Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Ijebu-Ode Annual Bar Lecture, themed “Strengthening The Rule Of Law In A Democratic Nigeria”.

Falana said the constitution guarantees financial autonomy for the judiciary, but lamented the lack of implementation in many states of the federation. He expressed concern that judges who are beneficiaries of vehicles and houses provided by governors will not be true to their oath of office when ruling on cases involving the state governments.

He added that financial autonomy for the judiciary is vital to guarantee judicial independence and free judges from the influence of governors and other executive office holders.

“Have you ever seen a governor invite commissioners or legislators to come and collect keys of cars? Have you ever seen it? No. They only do it to judges. So, they say they are building houses for judges. It is illegal. You know why? The government also have cases before the judges. And judges have taken oath to do justice without fear or favour. But if we reduce ourselves to the level where an arm of government supplies cars for our judges, build houses for our judges, even supply diesel. And we sit down there attacking judges, what does the law say?”

Falana, SAN, urged lawyers under the umbrella of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to treat the issue of judicial financial autonomy with the seriousness it deserves, noting that the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has remained the only body consistently championing the financial autonomy of the judiciary.

“The constitution has guaranteed financial autonomy for the judiciary. It is not about clapping. Because there are three cases…. Judicial staff, not NBA, have gone to court twice, and they have gone on strike to ensure that we have autonomy for our judges, financial (autonomy). Olisa Agbakoba also filed another case, but the NBA has never bothered itself.

“So, the point I’m making therefore is that: we can start from Ogun State. It’s possible… We are trying to fight them in Lagos; we have some little financial autonomy, not total yet. But unless we do that, we are not going to free our judges from the influence of the executive.”

Falana’s comment adds to ongoing national debates and conversations on judicial independence and financial autonomy for the judiciary.