Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has condemned the controversial playing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s campaign song, “On Your Mandate,” at the opening session of the 2025 All Nigerian Judges Conference, describing the incident as “reckless, scandalous, disgraceful, and deeply irresponsible.”
Atiku, in a strongly worded statement shared on his Facebook page, said he initially dismissed the viral video—captured during Channels TV’s coverage of the event—as a deepfake. The clip showed the partisan anthem being played at the end of a speech by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, instead of the Nigerian National Anthem.
“When it was confirmed to be authentic… I waited for an explanation from the Presidency or the office of the CJN,” Atiku wrote. “Silence. Total, deafening silence.”
According to Atiku, the incident represents not just a protocol blunder but a symbolic breach of national values. He accused the Tinubu administration of systematically weakening democratic institutions and nudging the country toward a “de facto one-party state.”
The former vice president pointed out the irony of the incident occurring on the same day President Tinubu lectured judges on integrity, public trust, and protecting the sanctity of the judiciary.
“Yet, while preaching morality, his administration allowed—or engineered—the playing of his own partisan campaign music before the entire Nigerian judiciary,” he said. “It is a shocking desecration of protocol, ethics, and national pride.”
Atiku argued that the substitution of the National Anthem with a political song in a hall filled with judicial officers sends a dangerous signal and undermines judicial independence.
“How can judges dispense justice fearlessly when Tinubu’s operatives are busy eroding the boundaries between state, party, and personal ambition?” he asked.
He stressed that Nigerian judges swear an oath to uphold the Constitution—not to align with any president’s political mandate.
“This affront must be condemned by all who still believe in constitutional democracy,” Atiku said, calling the incident the most blatant sign yet of alleged attempts to drag the judiciary into partisan politics.
As of press time, neither the Presidency nor the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria had issued a statement addressing the controversy.
