Judges Now to be Appointed through Advertisement - NJC

Judges Now to be Appointed through Advertisement - NJC

The National Judicial Council (NJC) will henceforth advertise to fill vacancies for
judges as the council introduces stringent measures to make sure that only
honest, hardworking and untainted lawyers become members of the bench.
Advertising to fill vacancies for this category of judicial officers is one of the new
measures contained in the 2014 Revised NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules for
the Appointment of Judicial Officers of All Superior Courts of Record in Nigeria.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmoud Mohammed, who disclosed this on
Thursday in Abuja at the swearing in of Justice Amiru Sanusi as a justice of the
Supreme Court, said: “The guidelines provide for a more comprehensive, robust
and transparent method of appointment, leading to the emergence of only the
best legal minds with high moral standards to serve as judges in our revered
temples of justice.”
The CJN said that Justice Sanusi was the first judicial officer to be appointed
under the new guidelines.
According to him, the process began by advertisement in the media for the
vacancy and calling for interested candidates to show interest in filling the
vacancy.
He said: “Acts as lobbying for appointment, exhibition of bad behavior in and out
of court, influence peddling, rendering dishonest or questionable legal opinions,
submission of false credentials, are just some of those conducts exhaustively
listed in the 2014 guidelines as acts that would preclude appointment to Judicial
office.”
The CJN explained the new guidelines and procedure for appointing judges thus:
“The Chief Justices of Nigeria serving and retired, serving and retired Justices of
the Supreme Court, the Presidents of the Court of Appeal serving and retired and
other heads of court as well as the President of the NBA, were all required to
nominate, on behalf of the Bench and Bar respectively, such persons they deemed
fit and properly qualified for elevation to our nation’s highest court.
“Having been duly nominated, comments were received from the recommenders,
on the shortlisted candidates with regard to their suitability or otherwise for
appointment. I must state at this juncture that such acts as lobbying for
appointment, exhibition of bad behavior in and out of court, influence peddling,
rendering dishonest or questionable legal opinions, submission of false
credentials, are just some of those conducts exhaustively listed in the 2014
guidelines as acts that would preclude appointment to Judicial office.
“The prospective candidates were further assessed by the FJSC on the basis of
strict criteria such as sound knowledge of the law, good reputation, and seniority,
in addition to other criteria too numerous to list here.
“Shortlisted candidates were required to duly fill and submit a completed FORM A,
issued by the National Judicial Council, within a limited time. Once completed and
submitted, FORM A and all documents pertaining to the candidates were once
again scrutinized by the FJSC to ensure that the candidates had indeed met the
requisite criteria. Furthermore, a security report from the Department of State
Security (DSS) and Medical Clearance from a recognized Government Hospital
were obtained, among other supporting documents.
“The FJSC then submitted its recommended list of final candidates to the NJC,
which conducted interviews for all candidates recommended by the FJSC in order
to ascertain the most suitable person to occupy the position of Justice of the
Supreme Court.
“The best candidate emerging from the exercise was then recommended by the
Council to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for appointment, after
the approval of the Senate.”