A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by seven Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), against the National Judicial Council (NJC) and others, over the alleged unlawful appointment of judges in Kogi.
Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment, held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute the action and that the suit itself lacked merit.
The seven aggrieved lawyers, who also hail from Kogi are Yunus Usman, SAN; Jibrin Okutepa, SAN; Patrick Okolo, SAN; Abdullahi Haruna, SAN; Reuben Atabo, SAN; Shaibu Aruwa, SAN and Johnson Usman, SAN.
The plaintiffs, in the originating summons marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/05/2024, sued the NJC, Kogi State Judicial Service Commission (KSJSC), Governor of Kogi and Attorney-General (A-G) and Commissioner for Justice in the state as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
They sought a mandatory order restraining the defendants from appointing new judicial officers until there is strict compliance with the laws.
In the originating summons dated Jan. 4 but filed Jan. 8, they sought a declaration that the selected candidates for onward transmission to NJC for appointment as judges were not “totally based on merits, competence, sound knowledge of the law, professional expertise and skill, seniority, fairness, equity, and equality.”
They argued that the same was marred by political and ethnic influence contrary to the provisions of Rule 3 (6)(i)-(iv) and Rule 4(4)(a) of the NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the Appointment of Judicial Officers of all Superior Courts of Records in Nigeria, 2014 and Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
They also alleged that the KSJS was doing the bidding of the governor.
The NJC, in its counter affidavit, urged the court to strike out the suit for want of jurisdiction.
The application was based on the grounds that the suit did not disclose a course of action against the NJC and that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to file the matter
The 2nd to 4th, in their counter affidavit and a preliminary objection, prayed the court to dismiss the suit.
It will be recalled that the Chief Judge of the state, in a letter to the Lokoja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), shortlisted some judicial officers to be appointed into the state’s High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal.
NAN reports that the NJC had suspended the process of the appointment of judges and kadis into the state’s judiciary, saying the development was to maintain a fair and just judicial system following a letter by the seven senior lawyers intimating it on a suit instituted against the appointment.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Omotosho noted that though the plaintiffs brought the suit on their own behalf and the marginalised people of Okun origin and Ibaji Local Government Area (LGA) of Kogi, he said: “interestingly, none of the plaintiffs were in consideration for appointment as Judicial officers.
“In fact, they are senior legal practitioners who are uninterested in becoming judges in Kogi State.
“In fact it has not shown that the acts of the defendants injured the interests of any of the plaintiffs in any way.
