Should Lagos Judicial Service Commission JSC and the National Judicial council NJC grant a request by Access to Justice AJ three newly appointed judges into the state judiciary may be relieved of their duty post.

Reason: AJ has called on the National Judicial council (NJC) to investigate their appointments which it described as a ‘ceremony of secrecy’ and a ‘breach of the NJC judicial appointment guidelines.’

The group, after a fact finding inquiry, said procedures adopted by the state Judicial Service Commission breached the mandatory standards and provisions of the NJC’s appointment guidelines of 2014.

The judges-Justices Idowu Alakija (former Director of Public Prosecution), Emmanuel Ogundare (former Chief Registrar) and Serifat Solebo (former Deputy Registrar), according to AJ were not properly elevated to the Bench as their appointments allegedly breached the NJC’s 2014 guidelines.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos, AJ’s Executive Director, Mr. Joseph Otteh, said that the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Funmilayo Atilade and the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), who were saddled with the responsibility of complying with the guidelines, should be held accountable for such failures. Otteh said that the Lagos CJ failed to publicise the available vacancies prior to the appointment of the new judges as stipulated in the guidelines.
Otteh said: “Our research revealed that there was no publicised article of vacancies on the notice boards of both the High Court and the NBA branches or on its website, either requesting for public expression of interest or written letter to the chairman of any NBA branch in the state seeking nomination of suitable candidates.

“The Lagos State judiciary also failed to send a provisional list of applicants and nominees to the respective NBA branches for comments. “The NJC guidelines were adopted to ensure that judicial appointment processes for superior courts are transparent, merit-driven, competitive, and safe guard against the appointment of suitable persons.

“Moreover, the more worrisome aspect is the fact that the event was a huge secrecy and most people never knew about it until after the swearing in. Hence, it is an essential call to the NJC to be a bit more meticulous, effective and extra vigilant.

Speaking also is the AJ’s deputy director, Dr. Adenike Aiyedun, who said that the group urges the NJC to adopt rigorous verification criteria towards ensuring that all procedures leading to the appointment of a Superior Court judge meet with and fully observe the guidelines by all states and the Federal judicial bodies.

Aiyedun said: “NJC should also send a clear message to all state jurisdictions that it won’t condone infractions of its appointment by establishing sufficient deterrent measures to ensure that any officer who circumvent its authority is duly punished.”

However, AJ asked the NJC to independently investigate the claims with a view to establishing its veracity or otherwise of whether the the NJC’s guidelines were flouted in the recruitment.

Source: The Newtelegraph News