Vice President Atiku Abubakar has said replacing Nigeria's national anthem with President Bola Tinubu's campaign song, "On Your Mandate" during the recent judges conference was reckless and deeply irresponsible.
Atiku further described the situation as nothing short of an assault on Nigeria's national dignity.
The former vice president said he was sent a video clip from Channels TV's coverage of the opening session of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference.
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Describing it as nothing short of an assault on Nigeria's national dignity, he said Tinubu's personal political anthem was brazenly played in place of the National Anthem at the end of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun's speech.
"My first instinct was to dismiss it as a deepfake. But once it was confirmed to be authentic--an actual reflection of what transpired on the very day President Tinubu lectured the judiciary on integrity and the rule of law, I waited for an explanation from the Presidency or the office of the CJN. Silence. Total, deafening silence."
Atiku, who noted that the incident is not isolated, said the Tinubu-led APC government has consistently pursued a systematic capture of state institutions, crushing opposition voices, and steering Nigeria toward a de facto one-party state.
He said it was ironic that on the same day Tinubu stood before Nigerian judges and sermonised about safeguarding integrity and upholding the sanctity of their profession.
"Yet, while preaching morality, his administration allowed (or engineered) the playing of his own partisan campaign music before the entire Nigerian judiciary -- a shocking desecration of protocol, ethics, and national pride.
"Let it be said clearly and without hesitation: Replacing the National Anthem with Tinubu's "On Your Mandate" in a hall full of judges is reckless, scandalous, disgraceful, and deeply irresponsible.
"It is the most blatant signal yet that this government is attempting to drag the judiciary into the partisan gutters of the APC, if not coerce a wholesale "defection" of Nigerian judges into political alignment.
"How can confidence be built when the executive arm openly inserts partisan propaganda into a solemn judicial gathering? How can judges dispense justice fearlessly when Tinubu's operatives are busy eroding the boundaries between state, party, and personal ambition?
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"Let the records be clear: Nigerian judges swore an oath to defend the Constitution, justice, and the rule of law, not to stand "on the mandate" of Bola Ahmed Tinubu or any other individual. This affront must be condemned by all who still believe in constitutional democracy," he said.
