The Federal Judicial Service Commission has recommended 12 judges to the National Judicial Council as priority candidates for elevation to the Court of Appeal — selecting them from a pool of 48 names initially forwarded by the President of the Court of Appeal for consideration.
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The recommended judges, drawn from 12 states across the federation, include several names that will be immediately recognisable to Nigerians who have followed recent high-profile political and legal cases.
The 12 Recommended Judges
The FJSC’s unanimous recommendations are as follows.
From Bayelsa State: Hon. Justice Raphael Ajuwa.
From Benue State: Hon. Justice Ijohor M. Jennifer.
From Cross River State: Hon. Justice Abua Elias Ojie.
From Ebonyi State: Hon. Justice Emeka Nwite the Federal High Court judge who has been handling the Nafiu Bala Gombe suit against David Mark’s ADC leadership, and who recently adjourned the case indefinitely after declaring it would be “judicial rascality” to proceed while the Supreme Court is seized of the matter.
From Ekiti State: Hon. Justice Abodunde M. Oluwatoyin.
From Gombe State: Hon. Justice Abdulhameed M. Yakubu.
From Katsina State: Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado.
From Kebbi State: Hon. Justice Sabiu Bala Shuaibu.
From Ogun State: Hon. Justice James K. Omotosho the Federal High Court judge who delivered one of the restraining orders that preceded the PDP’s Ibadan convention, and who also represented the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, at the recent unveiling of the National Minimum Standards for ACJA implementation.
From Ondo State: Hon. Justice Ademola Enikuomehin.
From Plateau State: Hon. Justice Veronica Julcit Dadom.
From Taraba State: Hon. Justice Dauda Njane Buba.
12 Judges Recommended For Elevation To Court Of AppealAccording to the judicial document, the President of the Court of Appeal forwarded a total of 48 names to the FJSC, requesting the commission to approve 12 for onward transmission to the National Judicial Council.
The FJSC acted under Rule 3(2) of the Revised National Judicial Council Guidelines and Procedural Rules, which provides for the submission of double the number of judicial officers intended to be appointed meaning the 48 names represented a long list from which the 12 priority candidates were selected.
The commission exercised its constitutional power under Paragraph 12(a)(iv) of Part I to the Third Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999) as amended in making its selections.
“Members of the Federal Judicial Service Commission, in exercise of their power, hereby notify the National Judicial Council of their unanimous decision to recommend the following twelve candidates as priority candidates,” the document stated.
The recommendations will now be considered by the National Judicial Council in line with its established procedures for judicial appointments. If approved by the NJC and ratified by the President, the 12 judges would be elevated from the Federal High Court and state high courts to the Court of Appeal one of the most significant career advancements in Nigeria’s judicial hierarchy.
The development was disclosed through a judicial document obtained and shared on Saturday by Professor Chidi Anselm Odinkalu human rights activist, lawyer, and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission.
Odinkalu, who has been one of the most prominent voices on judicial accountability and reform in Nigeria, shared the document on his public platforms, drawing attention to the names and the process by which they were selected.
His decision to make the document public is consistent with his broader advocacy for transparency in judicial appointments — a process that has historically been conducted behind closed doors with limited public scrutiny, despite its enormous implications for the quality and independence of Nigeria’s judiciary.
Two names on the list carry particular significance given current political and legal events.
Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has been at the centre of the ADC leadership crisis. He presided over the Gombe suit (FHC/ABJ/CS/1819/2025) and made several significant rulings, including directing respondents to show cause and, most recently, adjourning the matter indefinitely pending the Supreme Court’s determination. His elevation to the Court of Appeal would remove him from the ADC case at the trial court level.
Justice James K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court has handled multiple high-profile cases, including issuing one of the restraining orders in the PDP convention dispute. He has also served as a representative of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court at recent official events. His elevation would similarly affect any pending matters before him at the trial court.
The timing of the recommendations amid some of the most politically consequential litigation in Nigeria’s recent history will inevitably draw attention, though there is no suggestion that the selection process was influenced by any pending cases.
Judicial appointments in Nigeria have long been a subject of public interest and concern. The process involves multiple institutional layers — from nomination by superior court heads, to screening by the FJSC, to consideration by the NJC, to formal appointment by the President each stage designed to ensure quality and independence.
However, critics have argued that the process lacks sufficient transparency and that political considerations sometimes influence selections, particularly for the appellate courts where politically sensitive cases are frequently determined.
The publication of the FJSC’s recommendations through Odinkalu’s intervention provides a rare window into a stage of the process that is normally shielded from public view allowing Nigerians to assess the selections and track the subsequent NJC consideration process.
The 12 recommended judges represent a geographic spread across the federation’s six geopolitical zones. The South-South is represented by three judges (Bayelsa, Cross River, Ebonyi), the North-West by two (Katsina, Kebbi), the North-East by two (Gombe, Taraba), the South-West by two (Ekiti, Ogun), the North-Central by two (Benue, Plateau), and the South-East/Ondo axis by one (Ondo).
This distribution reflects the constitutional requirement for federal character in judicial appointments, ensuring representation from across Nigeria’s diverse states and regions.
The NJC will review the FJSC’s recommendations alongside its own assessment of the candidates’ qualifications, judicial temperament, record, and suitability for appellate court service.
If approved, the names would be forwarded to the President for formal appointment. The appointees would then be sworn in as Justices of the Court of Appeal joining the appellate bench that handles appeals from the Federal High Court, state high courts, and the National Industrial Court.
For the 12 recommended judges, elevation to the Court of Appeal represents not only a personal career milestone but a transition from trial court adjudication to appellate review a shift that requires a different judicial skill set focused on legal interpretation, precedent development, and the correction of errors rather than fact-finding and witness assessment.
The NJC’s consideration of the recommendations is expected in due course.
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