NJC: Judges Now to Be Appointed through Advertisement

Tobi Soniyi The National Judicial Council (NJC) has disclosed that it will henceforth advertise to fill vacancies for as the council introduces stringent measures to make sure that only honest, hardworking and untainted lawyers become judges.

Advertising to fill vacancies in the bench is one of the new measures contained in the 2014 Revised NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the Appointment of Judicial Officers of All Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria.

The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmoud Mohammed, who disclosed this yesterday in Abuja at the swearing of Justice Amiru Sanusi as a justice of the Supreme Court said: “The guidelines provide for a more comprehensive, robust and transparent method of appointment, leading to the emergence of only the best legal minds with high moral standards to serve as judges in our revered temples of justice.”

The CJN said Justice Sanusi was the first judicial officer to be appointed under the new guidelines.

According to him, the process began by advertisement in the media for the vacancy and calling on interested candidates to show interest in filling the vacancy.

He said: “Acts such as lobbying for appointment, exhibition of bad behaviour in and out of court, influence peddling, rendering dishonest or questionable legal opinions, submission of false credentials, are just some of those conducts exhaustively listed in the 2014 guidelines as acts that would preclude appointment to judicial office.”

The CJN explained the new guidelines and procedure for appointing judges thus: “The CJN serving and retired, serving and retired Justices of the Supreme Court, the Presidents of the Court of Appeal serving and retired and other heads of court as well as the President of the NBA, were all required to nominate, on behalf of the Bench and Bar respectively, such persons they deemed fit and properly qualified for elevation to our nation’s highest court.

“Having been duly nominated, comments were received from the recommenders, on the shortlisted candidates with regard to their suitability or otherwise for appointment. I must state at this juncture that such acts as lobbying for appointment, exhibition of bad behaviour in and out of court, influence peddling, rendering dishonest or questionable legal opinions, submission of false credentials, are just some of those conducts exhaustively listed in the 2014 guidelines as acts that would preclude appointment to Judicial office.

“The prospective candidates were further assessed by the FJSC on the basis of strict criteria such as sound knowledge of the law, good reputation, and seniority, in addition to other criteria too numerous to list here.

“Shortlisted candidates were required to duly fill and submit a completed FORM A, issued by the NJC, within a limited time. Once completed and submitted, FORM A and all documents pertaining to the candidates were once again scrutinized by the FJSC to ensure that the candidates had indeed met the requisite criteria. Furthermore, a security report from the Department of State Security (DSS) and Medical Clearance from a recognised government hospital were obtained, among other supporting documents.

“The FJSC then submitted its recommended list of final candidates to the NJC, which conducted interviews for all candidates recommended by the FJSC in order to ascertain the most suitable person to occupy the position of Justice of the Supreme Court.

“The best candidate emerging from the exercise was then recommended by the Council to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for appointment, after the approval of the Senate.