The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has released a list of 164 lawyers who have expressed their interest to be appointed judges of the Federal High Court.
In a public notice dated February 3, 2022, the association called on lawyers and members of the public who have reasons to question the suitability of any person named in the list to send in their petitions.
This, according to the public notice, is in line with NBA’s “commitment to ensuring that the process for the appointment of judicial officers of our superior courts is made more transparent”.
The Chairperson of the NBA’s Judicial Committee, Mr. Babajide Ajibade (SAN), who signed the public notice, stated “that only persons of the appropriate character and reputation are appointed to the bench.”
Ajibade added: “We kindly request that members of the Bar and the general public who know of any reason why any of the persons listed in the table below should not be considered for appointment to the Federal High Court Bench should forward a petition stating their reasons in the manner and on the date and time set out below:”
Prospective petitioners, the notice said, have up till February 9, 2022, to submit their complaints, which must be addressed to the NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata.
It also stated that the petitions are expected to be submitted either in hard copies at the National Secretariat of the NBA in Abuja.
The notice warned that all petitions “should include proof of the sender’s identity,” adding that “Anonymous petitions will not be considered.”
The Chief Judge, Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, had written to the NBA, requesting nominations of suitable candidates for appointment to the court’s bench from 13 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The states, apart from the FCT, having vacant slots on the Federal High Court bench are Akwa Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Ekiti, Enugu, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Rivers, Sokoto, and Zamfara states.
As of December 2021, the Federal High Court had 75 judges on its bench. The court has a maximum capacity of 100 judges.
In a January 2022 circular, the NBA, in line with the Chief Judge’s request, called on its members who are qualified and interested in being appointed to the court’s bench, to forward their expressions of interest to its secretariat.
It is traditional in line with the guidelines issued by the National Judicial Council (NJC) for the head of federal and state courts seeking to appoint new judges to call for nominations from the NBA, courts, judges, and the ministry of justice, operating within the courts’ jurisdiction.
But the nominations at that preliminary stage of the appointment have always been kept secret.
With the complicity of the heads of the courts seeking the appointment of new judges, the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for federal courts, or the State Judicial Service Commission for the state courts, and the NJC, the list of those jostling for the appointments are kept secret until the final shortlist is made.
This is despite the NJC guidelines providing that the names of nominees should be published publicly.
The breach of the guidelines had made many lawyers and members of the public wonder why some lawyers with doubtful characters made it to the final list.
Sometimes, lawyers and members of the public have pointed out violations of the NJC regulations and relevant laws in the appointment process mostly carried under the veil of secrecy.
NBA’s publication of the names of those who have expressed interest in the appointment to the Federal High Court bench is the first time the names of applicants will be officially made public at the preliminary stage of any judges’ appointment process.
However, the NBA’s list may not be exhaustive, as it may not contain the names of other interested lawyers who did not approach the association to be nominated for the appointment but chose to route their expressions of interest through other stakeholders such as judges, and the ministries of justice at both the federal and state levels
