The story making the rounds in legal and judicial circles in Nigeria, but muted, is that the on-going process of appointment of Justices to the Court of Appeal of Nigeria has been hijacked by politicians. The exercise, which has been shrouded in secrecy, from the beginning, is marred for absence of transparency and merit.
The list of nominated candidates right now awaiting the scrutiny of the National Judicial Council, is sealed in government confidential secret files.
According to a source, when the list of the names of those nominated is eventually made public, it will be such that will stun, shock and embarrass the legal community. Investigation has revealed that the list is dominated by candidates who were either nominated or sponsored by politicians. Little or no regard has been given to competence, excellence or hard-work.
A judge of the Federal High Court, notorious for corruption and writing of questionable judgments and rulings in favour of government is said to have made the list. Another judge, a female, from the President’s home state who was appointed a judge of the High Court only ten months ago is also said to have made the list. Others in the list, as revealed by investigations, include those who are being rewarded for having “assisted” the current government either at election petition tribunals or in convicting their perceived enemies.
Further investigations have revealed 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 were 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 what was used to subjugate the Court of Appeal list submitted by the President of the Court. At the end, Nigerians may, once again, be confronted with an uninspiring list of Court of Appeal Justices as the outcome of the current exercise. The fear is that the list may be challenged by persons or organizations clamouring for transparency and competition in the appointment of judicial officers.
In recent times, there has been an avalanche of appointments of Judges and Justices in Nigeria. Some of the appointments became so controversial that they ended up in litigation.
One exercise that readily comes to mind was the one initiated by the controversial out-going Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello. The exercise led to the recommendation of thirty-three judges by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to the President out of which a whooping number of twenty-two were found 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 a period of about one year to secure the seniority of a particular favoured candidate from the North.
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. It is crucial that in appointment 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, politicans 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, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a profesor of law and senior advocate, called for the reform of the appointment process for judges, insisting that it ought to be merit-based.