Group Lauds Court Of Appeal, FCT High Court For Publicizing Vacant Slots

A group, Open Justice Alliance, has commended the Court of Appeal and High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Abuja, for publicising vacant positions.

Head of the Alliance, Nelson Olanipekun, in a statement yesterday, said the move was commendable as it would afford qualified candidates to apply.

He said: “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.

“We particularly commend the heads of the courts for putting federal character above ethnic consideration by specifying the regions and/or states to which the vacancies relate.”

Olanipekun, however, urged the recruiters to allow merit and transparency regulate the recruitment process.

“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.

“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.

“Doing so will, in no small measure, impact positively on the already battered image of the Judiciary.

“It is our hope that this selection process will restore hope and confidence in our judicial appointment process,” he said.