The increasing reports of harassment, intimidation, and heavy-handed conduct by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) within and around court premises, particularly at the Federal High Court in Abuja, raise serious constitutional and democratic concerns. Whatever the justification may be in isolated cases, the growing normalization of security excesses around the nation’s courts is dangerous, unnecessary, and deeply damaging to Nigeria’s democratic image.
Courts are not military formations. They are constitutional sanctuaries where citizens seek justice, protection, and enforcement of their rights. Once the atmosphere around the courts becomes one of fear, intimidation, and chaos, the very essence of constitutional democracy begins to erode. The judiciary represents the last institutional refuge for the ordinary Nigerian. Any conduct capable of discouraging access to the courts must therefore be viewed with utmost seriousness.
Recent scenes at the Federal High Court in Abuja have become increasingly disturbing. Lawyers, litigants, journalists, and ordinary citizens reportedly face unnecessary obstruction, aggressive questioning, intimidation, and humiliating treatment at court entrances by DSS personnel. Such conduct not only embarrasses the judiciary but also portrays Nigeria before the international community as a state struggling to balance security operations with democratic norms.
No democratic society thrives where security agencies operate without restraint around judicial institutions. While national security remains important, security must never become a justification for institutional intimidation. The DSS was established to protect the state, not to create an atmosphere of fear around the very institutions designed to uphold constitutional order.
The implication of this trend goes beyond mere inconvenience. It strikes directly at public confidence in the administration of justice. Citizens approaching the courts should not feel as though they are entering a conflict zone. The courthouse must remain accessible, orderly, and free from unnecessary hostility. Anything short of that weakens public trust in both the judiciary and the government itself.
More troubling is the symbolism such actions create. In democratic societies, security agencies are subordinate to the rule of law and civil authority. Their operations must reflect professionalism, restraint, and respect for human dignity. When operatives openly harass citizens within court environments, it creates the dangerous perception that state power is overshadowing judicial independence. That perception alone is injurious to constitutional governance.
Nigeria already faces enormous national challenges: terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, economic instability, and violent crime. These are the areas that should command the full operational attention of intelligence and security institutions/community. Turning court premises into theatres of intimidation diverts focus from more pressing national security concerns and unnecessarily fuels public resentment.
The DSS must therefore urgently recalibrate its operational culture around judicial institutions. Court premises must never become arenas for intimidation or displays of raw state power. Respect for the judiciary is not optional in a democracy; it is foundational.
Nigeria cannot claim to be democratic while citizens are harassed at the gates of justice. Our courts must be left alone, accessible to all, and allowed to breathe.
*Mr Abdulkadir, Esq is a legal Consultant and can be reached via [email protected]
