The National Judicial Council (NJC) has refuted popular reports that stated 34 attorneys were excluded from consideration for appointment as judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria after failing an integrity test.
According to a statement released by the NJC’s secretary, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, the reports that are currently in circulation are false and do not accurately represent what actually happened.
Saleh claims that some candidates were unable to proceed in the Federal Judicial Service Commission’s (FJSC) process due to unfavorable conclusions drawn from petitions the Commission received, while a number of others were unable to proceed because they did not receive the necessary qualifying score to move on to the interview stage before the NJC.
According to his submission, the NJC has not yet made a final judgment about the applicants in question.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the procedures mentioned in the report were carried out entirely at the FJSC level, and no decision or action has yet been taken by the National Judicial Council in respect of the candidates concerned,” the statement stated.
The Council emphasized that there is no stand-alone or recently implemented “integrity test” whose failure instantly disqualified the impacted candidates, in contrast to what the media reports suggested.
According to reports, the statement also stated that candidates must go through several stages of screening, such as structured, merit-driven, and multi-layered, which include written tests, performance standards, background checks, petition reviews when necessary, and interviews that are conducted strictly in compliance with established protocols.
“The Council expresses concern that the dissemination of speculative and erroneous information could mislead the public and unfairly damage the reputation of candidates who participated in the selection process in good faith.”
“In light of the aforementioned, the NJC has started internal investigations to determine the origin of the unauthorized press statement and will take the necessary actions to safeguard the integrity and credibility of its procedures.”
“The Council urges media practitioners to always seek clarification through authorized channels before publishing reports on sensitive institutional matters, and reassures Nigerians that it remains firmly committed to transparency, fairness, due process, and the highest standards of judicial integrity,” the statement continued.
