The Abuja division of the Federal High Court summoned President Bola Tinubu and the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, regarding the dispute surrounding the selection of the 12 judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The court has also summoned Justice Husseini Bab-Yusuf, Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), as well as the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the National Judicial Council (NJC), and the Federal Judicial Service Commission.
They are to appear and show why an order seeking to stop the disputed appointment of the judicial officers to the exclusion of Ebonyi State should not be granted.
Meanwhile, Justice Inyang Ekwo, who issued the summons, has directed all parties to the lawsuit to maintain the status quo on the subject matter.
The decision followed an experte order in action NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/205/2024, filed by a legal practitioner, Azubike Nicholas Oko, against the defendants.
According to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the enrolled order dated February 23, 2024, Justice Ekwo directed the defendants to show cause why the prayers in the exparte motion should not be granted.
Furthermore, the court who ordered an accelerated hearing in the case urged the plaintiff to notify the defendants within two days of receiving the order.
While adjourning the case till.On March 4, Justice Ekwo ordered the plaintiff to serve the defendants with court processes prior to the next hearing date.
The plaintiff, Oko, has approached the court to determine whether by the combined provision and proper interpretation of sections 14(3), 42, 256(2)&(3), and item 21(ii) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, and Rule 3(6iv) of the NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants are under constitutional obligation to comply with the provisions section 14(3) and 42 of the Constitution.
He requested the following reliefs: “A declaration that the perennial and persistent exclusion of Ebonyi State from this list of states where qualified lawyers are selected for appointment as judges of the High Court of Federal Capital Territory, by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th defendants, amounts to marginalisation and discrimination of lawyers from Ebonyi State, including the Plaintiff herein, on the basis of their place of origin and ethnic group, contrary to the provisions of
A declaration that the listing, nomination, and or selection of lawyers from Kogi and Oyo States, which already have two judges each in the High Court of FCT, for appointment as judges of the High Court of FCT, against Ebonyi State, which does not have any sitting judge at all in the bench of the High Court of FCT, by the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Defendants, is unjust, inequitable, unfair, and amounts to the unprecedented breach of the provisions of section 42 of the Constitu
An order this Honourable Court restraining the Chief Judge of the FCT, the National Judicial Council, and the Federal Judicial Service Commission from selecting, nominating, or recommending qualified lawyers from Kogi and Oyo States, or from any other state of the federation that already has two sitting judges in the High Court of the FCT, to fill the twelve vacant positions as judges of the High Court of the FCT, in violation of the provisions of sections 14(3) and 42 of the Constitution.
An order of this Honourable Court prohibiting the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, from appointing any persons as judges from Kogi and Oyo States, which already have two sitting judges in the High Court of FCT, or from any other state that already has two sitting judges in the High Court of FCT, in violation of Sections 14(3) and 42 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution.
An order of this Honourable Court, directing the Chief Judge of the FCT, the Federal Judicial Service Commission, and the National Judicial Council to include the name of Ebonyi State, in the list of states from where qualified lawyers will be nominated and consequently appointed as judges of the High Court of the FCT, in compliance with the provisions of sections 14(3) and 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended and Rule 3(6iv) of the NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules.
