By Alex Enumah
Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday, dismissed the suit challenging President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment of 21 out of the 33 persons penciled down as judges in the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Justice Abang dismissed the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs lacked ‘locus standi’ to institute the case since they did not show any special interest as to confer on them the locus to commence the suit against the respective parties.
The suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/602/2020, and filed by JRP Foundation Ltd/GTE, comprises about 15 Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
While President Buhari is the first defendant, the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Judicial Service Committee of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), and the 21 nominees are the 2nd to 25th defendants respectively.
The plaintiff had asked the court to declare “that in its exercise of its constitutional duties to recommend suitable persons to the 2nd defendant as judges of High Court of FCT, Abuja, the 3rd defendant must only recommend such persons as have met the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in the extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria made by the 2nd defendant.
“That in exercising its constitutional duties to recommend to the 1st defendant (The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria), from the list submitted by the 3rd defendant, persons to be appointed judges of High Court of FCT, Abuja, the 2nd defendant can only recommend such persons as have met the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in its extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria.
“That the 5th to 25th defendants, having failed to meet the criteria and satisfied the conditions set out in the extant Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the appointment of judicial officers in Nigeria, are not suitable persons for nomination for appointment as judges of High Court of the FCT, Abuja, within the purview of Paragraph 2(1) of Part III of the Third Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.”
The plaintiff also urged the court to declare that the Judicial Service Committee of the FCT acted improperly, in bad faith and gross abuse of power vested in it when it submitted the nominations of these persons to the NJC for appointment as judges.
The applicant asked the court to declare that in view of this, the affected persons cannot be appointed by the 1st defendant as judges.
The applicant then prayed the court to set aside the recommendation of the nominees by the NJC to the 1st defendant for appointment.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Abang, who noted that the plaintiff was not party to the procedure for the appointment of the judicial officers and that they had not participated in any way, said the applicant’s interest was vague.
The judge also held that the court had no jurisdiction over the matter as argued by the defendants since the subject matter had to do with employment of the persons recommended by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to be appointed as judges by President Buhari.
Abang held that the application by the plaintiff to transfer the matter to National Industrial Court in accordance with Section 22 of the Federal High Court Rule would be baseless since the applicant’s legal right had to be determined first.
The judge subsequently dismissed the suit for being incompetent and lacking in merit.
