The Chief Justice of the Federal Capital Territory, Justice Husseini Baba-Yusuf has scheduled a Saturday recruitment exam for new FCT High Court judges, defying a parliamentary resolution asking him to pause the process over questions about applicable statutes.
Judicial sources told the Peoples Gazette that Mr. Baba-Yusuf invited his own daughter Maryam and others like Oluwakemi Ariwoola, daughter of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, to take a written test for promotion from magistrate to judge. The exam will take place at Government Secondary School, Maitama.
The exam plans emerged a week after lawmakers protested Mr. Baba-Yusuf appointing 12 new FCT High Court judges without adhering to federal character principles, as reported by the Gazette. A motion by lawmaker Enwo Igariwey seeking to halt appointments was widely adopted.
The Gazette found the appointments involved excluding magistrates from at least four states while prioritizing daughters of top judiciary officials from states like Oyo and Kogi which already have FCT High Court judges. States like Abia, Imo, Bayelsa and Ebonyi have no judges on the court.
“Violation of this principle…may not only be destabilizing but could open the floodgates to litigation,” Mr. Igariwey warned.
Sources said Mr. Baba-Yusuf has not updated the appointment list ahead of Saturday’s controversial exam. It remains uncertain how parliament will respond, but lawmakers argue they can compel compliance with judicial recruitment laws across Nigeria’s capital.
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