Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has criticised the playing of President Bola Tinubu’s political slogan at the 2025 All Nigeria Judges Conference, describing it as unethical and an assault on national dignity. In a personally signed statement on Wednesday, Atiku said it was inappropriate for members of the executive to introduce partisan music at an event involving another arm of government.
Atiku said a video from the opening session of the conference showed “On Your Mandate,” Tinubu’s political chorus, being played in place of the National Anthem after the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, delivered her speech. He said he initially suspected the footage to be a deepfake but later confirmed it to be authentic. According to him, neither the Presidency nor the Chief Justice’s office offered clarification on the matter.
He described the incident as part of what he called a broader pattern in which the Tinubu administration sought to capture state institutions and suppress opposition voices. Atiku noted the irony of the President addressing judges on integrity and the sanctity of the judicial profession on the same day partisan music was played at the event.
He said replacing the National Anthem with Tinubu’s campaign tune before the judiciary was “reckless, scandalous, disgraceful, and deeply irresponsible,” adding that it signalled an attempt to drag the judiciary into partisan politics. Atiku questioned how judges could maintain independence when partisan displays were allowed at judicial gatherings.
Responding to the allegations, the National Judicial Institute (NJI) dismissed the reports as misleading and inaccurate. Kolade Umoru, NJI’s Head of Information, Media and Public Relations, said only the National Anthem was rendered collectively at the beginning and conclusion of the opening ceremony, and no judge sang or chanted any political song.
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Umoru explained that the brief rendition of “On Your Mandate” was played solely by the Guards Brigade Band as part of its ceremonial protocol to usher the President to the podium and was not initiated or endorsed by the judiciary. He said the judiciary had no control over the band’s musical selections, which follow military ceremonial procedures. Judges stood only out of respect for the Office of the President.
NJI reiterated that the judiciary remains non-partisan and committed to constitutional neutrality. It urged the public and the media to verify information before sharing it and warned against circulating claims capable of undermining national institutions.
