The National Judicial Council, on Thursday, recommended the appointment of 12 new justices of the Court of Appeal.
The council also suspended two judges for one year without pay over judicial misconduct.
The resolutions were reached at the council’s 111th meeting held on May 13 under the chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun.
In a statement issued by its Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe, the NJC said the appointments were intended “to fill vacancies arising from the elevation and retirement of judicial officers across various levels of the Judiciary and to strengthen the capacity of courts for effective justice delivery.”
The council recommended Yakubu Mohammed, Monisola Abodunde, Raphael Ajuwa, Elias Abua, Mbalamen Ijohor, Sabiu Shuaibu, James Omotosho, Emeka Nwite, Dauda Buba, Sanusi Kado, Enikuomehin Ademola, and Julcit Dadom as new Justices of the Court of Appeal.
It also recommended Christine Ende as judge of the Benue State High Court, alongside Ibrahim Yakubu and Bala Daura as Kadis of the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal.
The NJC said the consideration of Yakubu and Daura was initially stepped down following a petition challenging their eligibility due to their retirement from public service, but the council later concluded that “the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) does not prohibit retired public servants from judicial appointment.”
The council added that its position was guided by the Court of Appeal decision in Ayoola v. Baruwa (1999), which held that “no constitutional provision precludes a retired legal practitioner from appointment to the Bench.”
Under a newly adopted policy, the NJC said retired public servants seeking judicial appointments must have “a minimum of ten years remaining in service before attaining the mandatory judicial retirement age.”