Coalition Wants FCT Appeal, High Courts’ Justices Appointed On Merit

A coalition of four not-for-profit organisations, Open Justice Alliance, has warned against nepotism and politicisation in the appointment of justices to fill the vacant positions in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Appeal and High Courts.

The group, in a statement signed by Nelson Olanipekun, stressed the need to look beyond family ties and political cronies to ensure transparency in the selection process.

Olanipekun commended the heads of the courts for putting federal character above ethnic consideration by specifying the regions and/or states to which the vacancies relate.

He urged the Nigerian judiciary to strive against all odds to allow merit and transparency to regulate its recruitment process to forestall a repeat of a recent rather embarrassing situation in Kogi State.

“We note from two separate letters issued from the Court of Appeal and the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, that vacancies currently exist in the respective courts for which suitably qualified candidates are invited to submit their expressions of interest.

“The foregoing notwithstanding, however, we are constrained to urge that the Nigerian Judiciary must strive against all odds to allow merit and transparency to regulate her recruitment process to forestall a repeat of the rather embarrassing situation in Kogi State, where about seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) recently dragged the National Judicial Council (NJC) and others to court in suit Number: FCT/ABJ/CS/05/2024 over what the learned silks had described as a gross violation of the regulations and constitutional principles of fairness, equity, and merit.

“Of particular concern from the complaints of the Learned Silks was the attempt by Governor Yahaya Bello to appoint his wife as a judge of the Kogi State High Court, even though the wife clearly lacked the requisite qualifications and experience for the position.

Also, we noticed that people with family ties and allies to senior Justices are being appointed as judges in the Judiciary.

“The Judiciary must be independent and be seen as independent. The stakeholders involved in the recruitment process must, therefore, eschew elements like ethnicity, family ties and political interference, which oftentimes taint the selection process and, in their place, disallow merit and transparency to reign supreme,” the statement reads.