Twenty candidates drawn from eight states have emerged on a shortlist in the ongoing process for the appointment of judges to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, TheNigeriaLawyer has learnt.
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A list obtained by TheNigeriaLawyer contains 20 names from Abia, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Ebonyi, Lagos, Katsina, Osun and Sokoto states, with four candidates each from Abia and Ebonyi and two candidates each from the other six states.
A source familiar with the process told TheNigeriaLawyer that candidates involved in the exercise had undergone security screening by the State Security Service (SSS), with screening activities taking place last week and continuing this week.
The source said the 20 names contained in the list represent candidates who have now been shortlisted for the final stages of the appointment process. TheNigeriaLawyer has, however, not seen an official public notice from the FCT Judicial Service Committee confirming that the attached list constitutes its final recommendation to the National Judicial Council.
The candidates listed are:
- Uguru Eme Uguru — Abia; Victor Ukagwu — Abia; Ubani Tony Chukwuemeka — Abia; Okezie-Okafor, Ekenma — Abia; Akpabio Usuk-Uma Michael — Akwa Ibom; Catherine Henry Cyril — Akwa Ibom; Fatima Ibrahim Bukar — Borno; Ibrahim Tijjani Monguno — Borno; Daniel Chidike Nwuzor — Ebonyi; Agwuama, Ndubuisi Ude — Ebonyi; Eze Emmanuel Eze — Ebonyi; Juliet Uchenna Njoku — Ebonyi; Akanni Idayat Olaide — Lagos; Ganiyu Owoyemi Tiamiyu — Lagos; Sani Lawal — Katsina; Mustapha Ahmed — Katsina; Omolola Tolulope Akindele — Osun; Olatunji Ige Oladunmoye — Osun; Anas Aliyu Abbas — Sokoto; and Abubakar Sa’idu Umar — Sokoto.
Some of the names on the list are already associated with judicial institutions. Official Abia State Judiciary information identifies Uguru Eme Uguru as a Deputy Chief Registrar in the state judiciary, while the FCT High Court website identifies Chukwuemeka Tony Ubani as Director of Enforcement and Execution of Judgments and Idayat Olaide Akanni as a Director and Head of Department in the Magistracy.
Eight states are represented on the list. Abia and Ebonyi account for four candidates each. Akwa Ibom, Borno, Lagos, Katsina, Osun and Sokoto account for two each.
By geopolitical zone, the South East accounts for eight of the twenty names, the South West for four, the North West for four, the North East for two and the South South for two. No candidate is listed from the North Central.
The states of origin listed are spread across the federation rather than concentrated in the Federal Capital Territory, which is consistent with the position of the Territory as the seat of the Federation, where appointments are ordinarily expected to reflect the federal character of the country.
The latest development forms part of the multi-stage constitutional and administrative process for appointing judges of the FCT High Court.
For judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the body constitutionally responsible at the initial selection and recommendation stage is the Federal Capital Territory Judicial Service Committee, which is chaired by the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court.
Under the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution, that committee recommends suitable persons for appointment as judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory to the National Judicial Council.
The Council then considers those candidates and recommends appointments to the President.
The Federal Judicial Service Commission is not the body designated for appointments to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. Its role in relation to the Federal High Court is a separate route under a different provision of the same Schedule.
The practical consequence is that the FCT Judicial Service Committee handles candidates for the FCT High Court at the initial selection stage, and the National Judicial Council conducts the subsequent assessment before any recommendation reaches the President.
The reported SSS screening therefore forms part of the background vetting surrounding the candidates but does not replace the constitutional roles of the FCT Judicial Service Committee, the NJC and, ultimately, the President in completing the appointment process.
Neither the Federal Capital Territory Judicial Service Committee nor the National Judicial Council has published a shortlist for the exercise, and neither has confirmed the authenticity of the document. The Department of State Services has not commented on the reported screening.
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