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Pix above: The gavel
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A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, rejected a suit seeking to stop the Chief Judge of FCT High Court, Hussein Baba-Yusuf, from appointing 12 judges to the bench of the court.
Justice Inyang Ekwo, in a ruling on the ex-parte motion moved by Emmanuel Emerenini, rather directed the plaintiff, Azubuike Oko, to put the defendants on notice of the motion ex-parte within 2 days of the order.
Justice Ekwo also ordered Oko, a legal practitioner, to serve the defendants with all processes filed in the suit within two days of the order for the defendants to show cause why the prayers on the motion ought not to be granted in the next adjourned date.
The judge, however, made an order for an accelerated hearing and adjourned the matter until March 4.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the plaintiff, in the ex-parte motion marked: FHC)ABJ/CS/205/2024, had sued Baba-Yusuf, National Judicial Council (NJC) and Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) as 1st to 3rd defendants.
Also joined in the suit dated and filed on Feb. 16 by Nkemakolam Okoro are the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), President of Nigeria and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) as 4th to 6th defendants respectively.
The plaintiff sought an order directing the parties in the suit to maintain status quo ante bellum pending the hearing and determination of his motion on notice.
In the affidavit deposed to by Christiana Dominic, Litigation Assistant in Okoro’s law firm, she described Oko as a taxpayer, a voter and a lawyer with over 19 years of experience in legal practice.
She said Oko hails from Ebonyi, which had been routinely excluded and marginalised concerning the appointment of judges of the High Court of FCT by Baba-Yusuf, NJC and FJSC.
The lawyer averred that it was the CJ (Baba-Yusuf) that computes the names of qualified lawyers from selected states of the federation and transmitted them to FJSC for recommendation to NJC for appointment by the President of Nigeria, as judges of the FCT High Court.
Dominic said that based on the information from the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the states mentioned for the nomination of lawyers for appointment as judges of the court into the 12 positions were Bauchi, Bayelsa, Enugu, Imo, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, and Zamfara.
She averred that currently, Oyo and Kogi “already had two serving judges in the FCT High Court, and the two states were given additional slots, to now have three judges, even though Ebonyi State has no single serving judge in the High Court of the FCT.”
The lawyer prayed the court to grant their motion in the interest of justice.
The State Online reports that the National Judicial Council (NJC) had in July last year, in Abuja, recommended Olukayode Ariwoola junior, son of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, for appointment as a Judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
Ariwoola junior was recommended for the Federal High Court bench along with 22 others, who passed the screening and interview of the council.
Apart from the 23 nominees for the Federal High Court, NJC also sought the appointment of one Kadi for Kaduna State and four other Kadis for Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal.
The recommendation for the appointments was made at the 103rd meeting of the council, presided over by the CJN, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and held in Abuja.
Those recommended as Federal High Court Judges are Ekerete Udofot Akpan, Hussaini Dadan-Garba, Egbe Raphael Joshua, Anyalewa Onoja-Alapa, Aishatu Auta Ibrahim, Ogazi Friday Nkemakonam, Ogundare Kehinde Olayiwola, Onah Chigozie Sergius, Hauwa Buhari, Ibrahim Ahmad Kala and Hauwa Joeph Yilwa.
Others are Amina Aliyu Mohammed,Sharon Tanko Ishaya, Chituru Joy Wigwe-Oreh, Musa Kakaki, Owoeye Alexander Oluseyi,
Abiodun Jordan Adeyemi, Agbaje Olufunmilola Adetutu and Salim Olasupo Ibrahim.
The rest are Dipeolu Deinde Isaac, Ariwoola Olukayode Jnr, Abdullahi Muhammad Dan-Ige and Mashkur Salisu.
A statement by the Director of Information of the Council, Mr Soji Oye, released on Friday, indicated that Hon. Kadi Muhammad Aminu Danjuma is to be appointed as Grand Kadi for Kaduna State.
Besides, four others are to be appointed as Kadis for Kano State Sharia Court of Appeal and they are Muhammad Adam Kadem, Salisu Muhammad Isa, Isa Idris Sa’id and Aliyu Muhammad Kani.
The statement said that all recommended candidates are expected to be sworn-in after the approval of the NJC’S recommendations to the President and their respective State Governors and confirmation by their State Houses of Assembly as the case may be./PLEASE SHARE
