The National Judicial Council (NJC) has officially stated that it is not in the know regarding the shortlist of 22 justices presented by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for the Supreme Court bench.
Barrister Soji Oye, the Director of Information at NJC, stated that the nomination hasn’t been brought to his attention.
The FJSC reportedly compiled a list of 22 justices from the Court of Appeal, intending to submit it to the NJC for consideration in elevating them to the Supreme Court.
Released on Thursday, the FJSC list shows a regional distribution of nominees, with North-Central and South East having six nominees each, North-East, South-West, and South-South having two nominees each, while North-West has four nominees.
This development follows the revelation in September 2023 that the number of justices in the Supreme Court had decreased to 10, contrary to the constitutional stipulation of 21.
The nominated justices and their respective regions are as follows:
SOUTH EAST
Hon Justice Nwaoma Uwa (Abia State)—Priority
Hon Justice Onyekachi Otisi (Abia State)—Reserve
Hon Justice Obande Ogbuinya (Ebonyi State)—Priority
Hon Justice Theresa Orji-Abadua (Imo State)—Reserve
Hon Justice Anthony Ogakwu (Enugu State)—Priority
Hon Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme (Imo State)—Reserve
SOUTH-SOUTH:
Hon Justice Moore Adumein (Bayelsa State)—Priority
Hon Justice Biobele Georgewill (Rivers State)–Reserve
SOUTH WEST:
Hon Justice Adewale Abiru (Lagos State)—Priority
Hon Justice Olubunmi Oyewole (Osun State)—Reserve
NORTH CENTRAL:
Hon Jummai Sankey (Plateau State)—Priority
Hon Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo (Plateau State)—Reserve
Hon Justice Stephen Adah (Kogi State)—Priority
Hon Justice Ridman Maiwada Abdullahi (Nassarawa State)—Reserve
Hon Justice Baba Idris (Niger State)—Priority
Hon Justice Joseph Ikyegh (Benue State)—Reserve
NORTH EAST:
Hon Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani (Bauchi State)—Priority
Hon Justice Abubakar Talba (Adamawa State)
NORTH WEST:
Hon Justice Muhammad Lawal Shuaibu (Jigawa State)—Priority
Hon Justice Bello Aliyu (Zamfara State)—Reserve
Hon Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar (Kebbi State)—Priority
Hon Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero (Kano State)—Reserve
While not explicitly denying the nomination, the NJC Director of Information refrained from confirming it, stating that the proposal had not been brought to his office’s attention.
