THE on-going process of appointment of Justices to the Court of Appeal has been hijacked by politicians, The Nation reports.
Sources in legal and judicial circles privy to the process, described the list as being dominated by candidates nominated or sponsored by politicians, with scant regard for competence, excellence or hard-work.
The exercise, which has been shrouded in secrecy from the beginning, is believed to be marred by lack of transparency and merit.
It was gathered that the list of nominated candidates, now awaiting National Judicial Council (NJC) scrutiny, is sealed in government confidential secret files.
Information available to The Nation suggests that when the list of names of those nominated is eventually made public, it will be such that will stun the legal community.
A controversial judge of the Federal High Court, believed to be pro-government, is said to have made the list.
A female judge from the Northwest, believed to be highly connected but of doubtful competence and who was recently appointed to the high court, is also said to have made the list.
Others in the list include those whose appointments are believed to be reward for being pro-government.
It was gathered that the exercise, which started smoothly, but secretly, at the Court of Appeal in June this year, passed through two crucial stages at the court, with two different committees of senior Justices of the court scrutinising the records and documents of candidates.
The process experienced a hitch at the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) when the list of candidates short-listed from the Court of Appeal was rejected and replaced with those submitted by politicians.
Application of the principle of quota system, in the name of Federal Character, but at the expense of competence and merit, was used to substitute the appellate court list.
Justice sector stakeholders are concerned that the list may be challenged by persons or organisations clamouring for transparency and competition in the appointment of judicial officers.
There has been an avalanche of appointments of Judges and Justices in recent times, with some of those appointments becoming so controversial that they ended in litigation.
One such exercise was the one initiated by the out-going Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello. The exercise led to the recommendation of 33 judges by the NJC to the President out of which a whooping number of twenty-two were alleged to be unqualified. The Justice Reform Project (JRP), a group comprising senior lawyers, challenged the appointments in court.
The manipulation of judicial appointments by politicians also played out recently, when a number of Justices appointed to the Supreme Court from the Southern part of the country had to wait for about one year, allegedly to secure the seniority of a particular favoured candidate from the North.
According to a judicial source, “The effectiveness of any judiciary depends upon its perceived legitimacy, especially, in the eyes of the public. This perception requires not only that the judges uphold the highest standards of integrity and judicial independence.
“A competent judiciary is one whose members are appointed following a rigorous and transparent process of assessment of both the candidates’ legal qualifications as well as integrity.”
The source adds: “It is crucial that in appointment of Justices at the levels of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court, only the best candidates are appointed. Judicial positions should not be politicised. This means, politicians should not interfere with appointment of judges. ”It is worrisome that the same politicians who go preaching merit in the appointment of Judges in the judiciary will do a full turn around and jeopardize a rigorous and meritorious process of appointment of Judges.”
Not too long ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, a professor of law and senior advocate, called for the reform of the appointment process for judges, insisting that it ought to be merit-based.
According to him, “We must take a second look at the appointment of judges. The merit-based system is necessary. We need to have mandatory test for them. We need to look at how our judges are selected. It is not enough to rise through the ranks in the judiciary with judges going to the Supreme Court from the appeal court. We must be able to bring in practicing lawyers and from the academic to become judges.”
Thenigerialawyer
