The National Judicial Council (NJC) has declared its lack of awareness concerning the shortlist of 22 justices compiled by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for possible appointment to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
According to Barrister Soji Oye, the Director of Information at the NJC, the nomination has not been officially communicated to the council.
The FJSC reportedly forwarded the list of 22 justices from the Court of Appeal to the NJC for consideration in elevating them to the apex court.
Released on Thursday, the FJSC’s list revealed a regional distribution of nominees. The North-Central and South East regions each presented six nominees, while the North-East, South-West, and South-South regions each put forward two nominees.
The North-West region contributed four nominees to the list.
This development follows the revelation in September 2023 that the number of justices in the Supreme Court had diminished to 10, in contrast to the constitutional stipulation of 21.
The following is the list of nominated justices according to their respective regions:
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
Although Barrister Soji Oye did not explicitly refute the nomination, he refrained from confirming it, citing the lack of official notification to his office.
