The Court of Appeal sitting in Owerri has upheld the 2024 judicial appointment process conducted by the Abia State Judicial Service Commission and dismissed an application seeking to halt the exercise.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Ntong Festus Ntong and supported by Justices Oyebisi Folayemi Omoleye and Mohammed Lawal Abubakar, the court described the application as lacking merit and awarded costs of N3 million against the applicants.
The case stemmed from a suit initiated at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria by the Abia State Attorney-General, challenging the legitimacy of a fresh call for expressions of interest for judicial appointments in the state.
The applicants, who had participated in the 2022 judicial appointment exercise, argued that a new 2024 process would undermine pending appeals linked to the earlier exercise.
They also sought an extension of time to appeal and an injunction to stop the new appointments.
However, the respondents, including the Attorney-General of Abia State, judicial authorities, and the National Judicial Council (NJC), maintained that the 2022 exercise was discontinued due to irregularities and did not result in any appointments, making the 2024 process a separate and valid exercise.
The appellate court ruled that the applicants failed to provide convincing reasons for their delay and could not establish any enforceable legal right arising from the 2022 exercise.
It further held that the proposed grounds of appeal were weak and appeared aimed at stalling the ongoing judicial appointment process.
Consequently, the court dismissed the application in its entirety and ordered the applicants to pay N3 million in costs, to be shared among the respondents.
