By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA – Ahead of its scheduled meeting, the National Judicial Council (NJC) on Thursday clarified that it had not reached a conclusion on the fate of 62 legal practitioners seeking appointment as judges of the Federal High Court.
It will be recalled that 34 applicants who passed the Computer-Based Test (CBT) were earlier disqualified by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
Meanwhile, the Council—which is billed to meet on January 13 and 14 to consider issues surrounding the FHC judges’ appointments process—in a statement it made available to newsmen, explained that the initial qualifying test was solely conducted by the FJSC.
It equally faulted the claim that the 34 lawyers disqualified by the Commission had failed the integrity test.
Insisting that the claim did not reflect what transpired in the judicial appointment process, the NJC stated that while some candidates were disqualified due to petitions against them, others failed to advance to the interview stage because they did not secure the required score.
“Contrary to the impression conveyed by the media reports, the Council emphasizes that there is no stand-alone or newly introduced ‘integrity test’ whose failure automatically disqualified candidates en masse, as widely suggested.
The judicial appointment process remains structured, merit-driven, and multi-layered, encompassing written examinations, performance benchmarks, background verification, petition review where applicable, and interviews conducted strictly in accordance with established guidelines,” the NJC added in the statement that was signed by its Secretary, Malam Ahmed Gambo Saleh.
The Council said it has commenced internal investigations to ascertain the source of what it described as an “unauthorized press statement” on the appointment process, saying it will “take appropriate steps to protect the integrity and credibility of its processes.”
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