34 lawyers fail integrity test, dropped from Federal High Court judgeship race

By : Ameh Ochojila

Date: 28 December 2025 5:30pm WAT

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No fewer than 34 lawyers nominated for appointment as Judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (FHC) have failed the integrity test for appointment as judicial officers in Nigeria and have been dropped from the race.

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. The 34 legal practitioners were part of the 62 applicants nominated for the bench of the High Court but were knocked out by various petitions against them during the integrity test. Consequently, dependable sources at the NJC revealed that only 28 nominees who received a clean bill of health during the integrity test would now face the interview panel of the Council next month.

The source told our correspondent that 62 applicants passed the Computer-Based Test (CBT) examination conducted by the Federal High Court, consequent upon which their names were forwarded to the FJSC. However, in line with the laid-down procedure, the FJSC was said to have applied the policy of the integrity test endorsed by the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on public feedback on nominees by publishing the names of the 62. The publication of nominees’ names on 17 September 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 bribes 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 had actually demanded and received a one million Naira bribe in the course of a court matter that passed through her office. Armed with the established facts of the petition written by a lawyer against the female nominee and several others, the FJSC ended up upholding the nomination of only 28 names, forwarding the same to the NJC and dropping the remaining 34 for failure to scale the integrity test.

Our correspondent gathered that the 28 nominees would be presented to the NJC at its meeting scheduled for January 2026. The 28 shortlisted nominees will face the NJC interview panel days before the main meeting, which the source said would hold in the second week of next month. When contacted for comments on the matter, the NJC Director of Information, Mrs Kemi Ogedegbe, confirmed that the Council would meet between 13 and 14 January 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 on Monday and Tuesday, while the meeting is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. The Director, who refused to comment in detail on petitions against some nominees, insisted that the NJC is fully determined not to lower the entry-point bar, no matter who is involved.

“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 will come into play during the interview, and only those found suitable will succeed,” she said.

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