The National Judicial Council (NJC) has issued a strong clarification regarding the ongoing process for appointing new judges to the Federal High Court of Nigeria. The council stated that it has not yet taken any final decision concerning the 62 legal practitioners who applied for the positions.
FJSC, Not NJC, Managed Initial Screening
In a statement released on Thursday, 2nd January 2026, and signed by its Secretary, Malam Ahmed Gambo Saleh, Esq., the NJC distanced itself from recent media reports. The council emphasized that all qualification processes mentioned in those reports were conducted solely by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
The NJC specifically labelled as inaccurate and unauthorised the reports which claimed that 34 lawyers failed an integrity test and were consequently dropped from consideration. The council stressed that these circulating reports, on both social and conventional media, did not reflect the true events of the judicial appointment process.
How the Judicial Appointment Process Actually Works
The council provided a detailed breakdown of what transpired. It confirmed that the process for the Federal High Court judgeships is multi-layered. All initial stages, including written examinations and preliminary background checks, were handled by the FJSC.
The NJC explained that a number of candidates were discontinued at this FJSC stage. This was due to adverse findings from petitions submitted to the commission. Other candidates did not proceed simply because they failed to attain the required qualifying score needed to advance to the interview stage, which is conducted before the NJC.
The council firmly denied the existence of a stand-alone or newly introduced "integrity test" that led to the mass disqualification of candidates. Instead, it described the process as structured and merit-based, involving several components:
- Written examinations
- Performance benchmarks
- Background checks
- Consideration of petitions where applicable
- Interviews conducted under established guidelines
NJC Launches Probe, Urges Media Caution
The NJC expressed deep concern that the publication of such speculative and incorrect information could mislead the public. It also warned that the reputations of candidates who participated in good faith could be unfairly damaged.
As a result, the council has commenced internal investigations to identify the source of the unauthorised press statement. It pledged to take appropriate steps to safeguard the integrity and credibility of its appointment procedures.
Reaffirming its commitment to transparency, fairness, and due process, the NJC pleaded with media practitioners to always seek clarification through authorised channels before publishing reports on sensitive institutional matters like judicial appointments.
