Access to Justice Drags NJC, FJSC, Others to Court, to Stop Appointment of Supreme Court Justice Nominees

Human rights Advocacy group, Access to Justice, has asked the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to quash the list of candidates submitted by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) to the National Judicial Council (NJC), for consideration as Supreme Court Justices.

In the suit filed on Tuesday, November 27 on behalf of Access to Justice by Messrs. Jude Ogodi and Joseph Otteh Esq, the Applicant is asking court to quash the list, on the ground that the appointment of the Supreme Court Justices’ nominees, failed to both comply and ensure compliance with the established judicial appointment procedures.

Access to Justice stated that on October 22nd and 23rd 2019, several print and electronic media reported the NJC conveyed a meeting to consider nominees for appointment to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, regardless of their persistent defiance of the 2014 Appointment Guidelines.

The group alleged that four Justices of the Court of Appeal - Justices Adamu Jauro, Emmanuel A. Agim, C. Oseji and Helen M. Ogunwumiju – were recommended for elevation and appointment as Justices of the Supreme Court.

Apart from FJSC and NJC which are 1st and 2nd Respondents respectively, others joined are Respondents in the suit marked as FHC/ ABJ/CS/1460/2019 are the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed, Senate President, Senator Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan, and President Muhammadu Buhari.

The human rights group alleged that, the FJSC and NJC not only failed to both comply with the established judicial appointment procedures, they in fact, circumvented aspects of those procedures which make the recruitment process transparent, fair, merit-based and competitive, and further failed to disclose information that would enable interested persons monitor how the recruitment exercise was done.

According to Access to Justice, the 2014 Judicial Appointment Guidelines and the 2016 National Judicial Policy, both made farreaching changes to previous judicial recruitment systems that were characterised by lack of transparency, opacity, lack of a level-playing field, influencepeddling and nepotism.

It stated further that, the 2014 Judicial Appointment Guidelines and the 2016 National Judicial Policy prioritise and promote values of transparency, openness, merit, and the availability of equal opportunity to all persons interested in judicial offices.

“Both instruments intend, in other words, to provide a level playing field for all eligible persons interested in serving in judicial offices, whether they are currently serving as Judges/ Justices, are in private practice or in academic institutions of learning”, the group stated.

The Applicant, however, prayed the court to declare that the FJSC did not fully, and in material particular, comply with the aforesaid Judicial Appointment Guidelines, particularly with respect to making a public call for expressions of interest in the vacant positions, and notifying the Nigerian Bar Association of the vacancies and calling for nominations, before it drew up a list of candidates it submitted to the NJC for the latter’s consideration for appointment as Supreme Court Justices, which the NJC considered at its meeting of the 22nd and 23rd October, 2019.