Prominent human rights lawyer Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of disregarding its own guidelines in the recent appointment of 14 judges to the Federal High Court bench, describing the process as “self-dealing.”
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Odinkalu made the allegation in a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, pointing to a fundamental breach of the NJC’s judicial appointment guidelines which require that security reports from the Department of State Services must be obtained and reviewed before candidates are interviewed and selected for judicial office.
According to Rule Four of the NJC’s judicial appointment guidelines, which Odinkalu referenced in his post, the Chairman of the Judicial Service Commission is required to table before the Commission for consideration “Report by the Department of State Security on the suitability of the candidate for appointment to a Judicial Office supported by verifiable facts on which the report is based and, in addition, stating clearly whether the Department kept a file on the candidate and, if so, whether the file contains reports adverse to the candidate being appointed as Judicial Officer.”
This security report is supposed to be part of the documentation reviewed alongside the candidate’s completed NJC Form ‘A’, detailed medical certificate of fitness, and other necessary attachments before any decision is made on the candidate’s suitability.
However, in its press statement dated January 22, 2026, and signed by Kemi Babatola-Ogedengbe, Deputy Director, Information, the NJC openly admitted that “the security report on the candidates was not available at the time of the Council Meeting” held on January 13 and 14, 2026.
The Council disclosed that it “resolved to await the submission of the security report before forwarding the names of the candidates to the President,” and only after “having received the security report, with no adverse comments on any of the recommended candidates,” did the Council forward the names to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on January 22, 2026.
Reacting to this admission, Odinkalu wrote: “The judicial appointment guidelines of @njcNig require that the report of the Judicial Service Commission forwarding nominees for judicial office should include a security report from @OfficialDSSNG on the suitability of the candidate for judicial office.”
He continued: “Yet, the @njcNig admits in its statement on the latest appointments to the bench of @FederalHigh that they interviewed & settled on candidates without the benefit of those security reports & only secured those reports when they were largely irrelevant or an artifice.”
The senior lawyer concluded with a damning assessment: “The fact that the #NJC does not feel any need to abide by its own rules on judicial appointments should make it clear to anyone interested why this process is all about #SelfDealing.”
Odinkalu’s criticism highlights a fundamental problem in Nigeria’s judicial appointment process: the NJC interviewed candidates, deliberated on their suitability, and made selections during its 110th Meeting without having the mandatory security reports that should inform those very decisions.
By obtaining the security reports only after candidates had already been selected, the senior lawyer argues, the reports became “largely irrelevant or an artifice” — a mere formality to tick a box rather than a meaningful part of the vetting process.
This procedural irregularity raises serious questions about the integrity of the judicial appointment process and whether security concerns that should have disqualified candidates could have been overlooked simply because the reports came too late to matter.
THE 14 RECOMMENDED CANDIDATES
The 14 candidates recommended to President Tinubu for appointment as Judges of the Federal High Court are:
- Suleiman, Amida Hassan
- Muhammad, Barau Saidu
- Igboko, Chinelo Conchita
- Onuegbu, Chioma Angela
- Galumje, Edingah
- Ibrahim, Vera Eneabo
- Abubakar, Musa Usman
- Salihu, Aisha Yunusa
- Ikpeme, Joy Bassey
- Shehu, Umaru Adamu
- Mohammed, Ibrahim Buba
- Eigege-Binjin, Nendelmum Judith
- Usoro, Kuyik Uduak
- Nwoye, Osinachi Donatus
The 110th Meeting that produced these recommendations was presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, GCON.
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