The Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) has put forth a list of 22 justices from the Court of Appeal for elevation to the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Notably, Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani, the former head of the Presidential Election Petitions Court (PEPC) during the 2023 election petition cases, is among the nominees. The nominations span various regions, with the North-Central having six, South-East and South-South with two each, South-West with two, and North-East with two.
Following the retirements of Justices Amina Augie and Mohammed Dattijo, leaving the Supreme Court with only 10 justices, the FJSC has taken steps to fill the gaps.
The nominated justices hail from diverse states, with some marked as ‘Priority’ and others as ‘Reserve’ for contingency purposes. The list now awaits ratification from the National Judicial Council (NJC) before being recommended to Bola Tinubu.
See the full list of the 22 nominated Justices put up by Supreme Court below:
SOUTH-EAST:
1. Hon Justice Nwaoma Uwa (Abia State) – Priority
1A.Hon Justice Onyekachi Otisi (Abia State) – Reserve
2. Hon Justice Obande Ogbuinya (Ebonyi State) – Priority
2A. Hon Justice Theresa Orji-Abadua (Imo State) – Reserve
3. Hon Justice Anthony Ogakwu (Enugu State) – Priority
3A. Hon Justice Chioma Nwosu-lheme (Imo State) – Reserve
SOUTH-SOUTH:
1. Hon Justice Moore Adumein (Bayelsa State) – Priority
1A. Hon Justice Biobele Georgewill (Rivers State) – Reserve
SOUTH-WEST:
1. Hon Justice Adewale Abiru (Lagos State) – Priority
1A. Hon Justice Olubunmi Oyewole (Osun State) – Reserve
NORTH-CENTRAL:
1. Hon Jummai Sankey (Plateau State) – Priority
1A. Hon Justice Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo (Plateau) – Reserve
2. Hon Justice Stephen Adah (Kogi State) – Priority
2A. Hon. Justice Ridman Maiwada Abdullahi (Nassarawa State) – Reserve
3. Hon Justice Baba Idris (Niger State) – Priority
3A. Hon Justice Joseph Ikyegh (Benue State) – Reserve
NORTH-EAST:
1. Hon Justice Haruna Simon Tsammani (Bauchi State) – Priority
1A. Hon Justice Abubakar Talba (Adamawa State) – Reserve
NORTH-WEST:
1. Hon Justice Muhammad Lawal Shuaibu (Jigawa State) – Priority
1A. Hon Justice Bello Aliyu (Zamfara State) – Reserve
2. Hon Justice Abubakar Sadiq Umar (Kebbi State) – Priority
2A. Hon Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero (Kano State) – Reserve #Supreme Court