About thirty-four lawyers nominated for appointment as Judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (FHC) have failed the integrity test for judicial officers, and thus dropped from the gesture, can authoritatively report.
The 34 legal practitioners are part of the 62 applicants nominated for the Bench of the High Court but were shown the way out owing to various petitions levelled against them during the integrity test.
The integrity test is part of the new guidelines approved by the National Judicial Council (NJC) under the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun to eliminate persons of doubtful character from being appointed as judicial officers.
Sources at the NJC revealed that only 28 nominees, who received a clean bill of health during the test, would now face the interview panel of the Council, which has been slated for January, 2026.
Our correspondent learnt that 62 applicants passed the Computer Base Test (CBT) examination conducted by the Federal High Court consequent upon which their names were forwarded to the FJSC.
But in line with the laid down procedure, the FJSC was said to have applied the policy of integrity test endorsed by the current Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun on public feedback on nominees by publishing the names of the 62.
The publication of nominees’ names on September 17, 2025, invited members of the public to submit feedback on nominees’ integrity, reputation and suitability for judicial appointment.
In one of the petitions from public feedback, a female nominee was accused of obtaining a bribe in the discharge of her official duties and was referred to the Police Service Commission (PSC) for investigation.
At the end of the investigation, the Police Service Commission found as a fact that the female nominee actually demanded and received N1 million bribe in the course of a court matter that passed through her office.
Having established facts of the petition written by a lawyer against the female nominee and several others, the FJSC went ahead to uphold the nomination of only 28 names, which it forwarded to the NJC, while it dropped the remaining 34 for failing to pass the integrity test.
The 28 nominees that scaled through would be presented to the NJC at its meeting scheduled for next month.
The 28 shortlisted nominees will face NJC interview panel days before the proper meeting which the source said would hold in the second week of next month.
The NJC Director of Information, Mrs Kemi Ogedengbe, when contacted confirmed that the Council would meet between January 13 and 14 to consider issues in the process of the shortlisted candidates for appointments as Judges of the Federal High Court.
According to her, the 28 shortlisted nominees will face the Council interview panel days before the meeting, possibly Monday and Tuesday, while the meeting would hold Wednesday and Thursday.
Although the director could not furnish newsmen with further details on the petitions against some nominees, she however insisted that the NJC is fully determined not to lower the entry point bar no matter who is involved.
She said: “You are all aware, like the general public too, that transparency and judicial integrity have remained a top priority for the Kekere – Ekun-led administration. There is no going back on that. Merit is the only factor that would come to play during the interview and only those found suitable would have their ways.”
