NJC uninformed about 22-Justice shortlist for Supreme Court bench

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has clarified that it is not privy to the shortlist of 22 justices forwarded by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for possible elevation to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

Barrister Soji Oye, the Director of Information at NJC, stated that the nomination had not been officially communicated to the council. The FJSC reportedly submitted the list, displaying a regional distribution of nominees, with North-Central and South East having six candidates each, and North-East, South-West, and South-South having two each, while North-West has four.

This revelation follows the acknowledgment in September 2023 that the number of Supreme Court justices had decreased to 10, contrary to the constitutional stipulation of 21.

The nominated justices include:

SOUTH EAST

– Hon Justice Nwaoma Uwa (Abia State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Onyekachi Otisi (Abia State) — Reserve

– Hon Justice Obande Ogbuinya (Ebonyi State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Theresa Orji-Abadua (Imo State) — Reserve

– Hon Justice Anthony Ogakwu (Enugu State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (Imo State) — Reserve

SOUTH-SOUTH

– Hon Justice Moore Adumein (Bayelsa State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Biobele Georgewill (Rivers State) — Reserve

SOUTH WEST

– Hon Justice Adewale Abiru (Lagos State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Olubunmi Oyewole (Osun State) — Reserve

NORTH CENTRAL

– Hon Jummai Sankey (Plateau State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo (Plateau State) — Reserve

– Hon Justice Stephen Adah (Kogi State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Ridman Maiwada Abdullahi (Nassarawa State) — Reserve

– Hon Justice Baba Idris (Niger State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Joseph Ikyegh (Benue State) — Reserve

NORTH EAST

– Hon Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani (Bauchi State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Abubakar Talba (Adamawa State) — Reserve

NORTH WEST

– Hon Justice Muhammad Lawal Shuaibu (Jigawa State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Bello Aliyu (Zamfara State) — Reserve

– Hon Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar (Kebbi State) — Priority

– Hon Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero (Kano State) — Reserve

While the NJC Director of Information neither confirmed nor denied the nominations, he asserted that his office had not officially received the proposal for consideration.