No fewer than 34 lawyers nominated for appointment as judges of the Federal High Court have been disqualified after failing the mandatory integrity screening introduced by the National Judicial Council (NJC).
The integrity test, approved under the leadership of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, is aimed at eliminating candidates of questionable character from being appointed as judicial officers.
The affected lawyers were among 62 applicants who had earlier passed the Computer-Based Test (CBT) conducted by the Federal High Court and whose names were forwarded to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
However, following the integrity screening process, only 28 candidates emerged with a clean record and were cleared to proceed to the interview stage.
According to reliable NJC sources, the integrity test involved public scrutiny of the nominees after their names were published on September 17, 2025, inviting petitions and feedback from members of the public on their character, reputation and suitability for judicial office.
Several petitions were reportedly submitted against some of the nominees. In one case, a female nominee was accused of demanding and receiving a bribe of one million naira in the course of discharging her official duties.
The petition was referred to the Police Service Commission (PSC) for investigation, which reportedly established that the allegation was valid.
Based on the outcome of the investigations and other adverse findings, the FJSC upheld the nomination of only 28 candidates and dropped the remaining 34 for failing to meet the integrity threshold.
The shortlisted candidates have since been forwarded to the NJC for further consideration.
The 28 cleared nominees are expected to face the NJC interview panel ahead of the Council’s meeting scheduled for January 2026.
Sources disclosed that the interviews would take place a few days before the main meeting, which is expected to hold in the second week of January.
Confirming the development, the NJC Director of Information, Mrs Kemi Ogedegbe, said the Council would meet between January 13 and 14 to deliberate on issues relating to the appointment process.
She noted that interviews for the shortlisted candidates would likely take place on the Monday and Tuesday preceding the meeting.
Ogedegbe declined to comment on specific petitions against nominees but stressed that the NJC remains resolute in upholding transparency and judicial integrity.
She said the Kekere-Ekun-led NJC would not compromise standards, adding that merit and suitability would be the sole determinants of success in the selection process.
