As NJC meets Jan 13 to grill 28 other applicants

By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

ABUJA— A total of 34 lawyers who passed a Computer-Based Test, CBT, organised for applicants seeking appointment as judges of the Federal High Court have been disqualified by the Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC.
The disqualified applicants were among 62 senior legal practitioners whose names were forwarded to the FJSC by the High Court.
The commission, which gave a clean bill of health to only 28 persons on the list that the court sent to it, maintained that the 34 lawyers whose names were dropped failed the integrity test and were found unfit for the bench.
Vanguard learned that the National Judicial Council, NJC, headed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, will meet on January 13 and 14, 2026, to consider issues surrounding the FHC judges’ appointments process.
This comes amid allegations that the CBT results were manipulated to favour well-connected candidates who scored below 30 percent and were shortlisted ahead of others who secured higher marks.
It was further alleged that, although candidates could access their individual scores post-examination, the relevant judicial authorities declined to release the complete results publicly, thus casting doubt on the integrity of the selection process.
Meanwhile, a top judicial source revealed that the 28 shortlisted nominees would face NJC’s interview panel two days before the council’s scheduled meeting.
On how the nominees were shortlisted, the source, who pleaded not to be mentioned due to a lack of clearance to speak on the issue, insisted that the process was carried out transparently.
“There was nothing controversial about the process. The FJSC did a thorough work using the policy the CJN introduced which required public feedback on the 62 persons the Federal High Court forwarded their names.
“Accordingly, their names were published on September 17, 2025, wherein members of the public were invited to give their feedback on the nominees’ integrity, reputation, and suitability for judicial appointment.
“Several petitions were received and considered by the FJSC. The affected persons were equally afforded the opportunity to defend themselves. At the end of the process, only 28 nominees scaled through while 34 others failed the integrity test,” the source added.
For instance, one of the petitions seen by Vanguard affected a Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP, whose name was initially forwarded for appointment as a judge of the high court.
In the petition dated September 22, 2025, which was copied to the FJSC, the CJN, NJC, Police Service Commission, PSC, and President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, the petitioner, Alh. Abubakar Yahaya, narrated how the nominated police officer allegedly forced him to pay N1million bribe.
Alh. Yahaya, through his lawyer, Mr. Sanni Abbas, said the incident occurred after he was illegally arrested at the behest of the nominee who was then the officer in charge of legal, Zone 7 Police command, Abuja.
According to the petitioner, on January 16, 2025, he got a call from security guards at his house that some policemen where around with enforcement team from the court.
He narrated that upon his return to the house, without a warrant, he was whisked away by policemen on the basis that there was a petition against him and an instruction for his arrest by the CSP identified as Mrs. Blessing Ezeala.
The petition alleged that he was not released on bail till he coughed out the sum of N1million which he said the nominated CSP collected through a proxy.
He disclosed that after he reported the matter, a panel of enquiry headed by the Chairman of the PSC, in its findings dated February 3, 2025, “discovered that the N1million collected by one Umar Tahir through account No:5600614399(Fidelity Bank Plc), was later sent to one Jane Oleka with account 2055792545 an account with United Bank for Africa
“Further investigation by the commission revealed that the sum of N995,000 was traced from the account of the Jane Oleka to the Account of Blessing Nkechi, all the transaction happened on January 16, 2025.”
Meanwhile, the high court authorities had yet to respond to the FJSC’s rejection of some of its nominees, among whom was the CSP.