The National Judicial Council (NJC) has disowned trending reports which claimed that 34 lawyers failed an integrity test and were consequently dropped from consideration for appointment as Judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria.
The NJC, in a statement by its Secretary, Ahmed Gambo Saleh, said the reports in circulation are inaccurate and do not reflect the true position of what transpired.
According to Saleh, some candidates were unable to continue in the process conducted by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC), based on adverse findings arising from petitions received by the Commission; several others did not progress further simply because they failed to meet the required qualifying score to advance to the interview stage before the NJC.
He submitted that the NJC is yet to take a final decision on the affected candidates.
The statement said, “For the avoidance of doubt, the processes referenced in the report were conducted 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 Council emphasised that, contrary to the impression conveyed by the media reports, there is no stand-alone or newly introduced “integrity test” whose failure automatically disqualified the affected candidates.
Naijaonpoint reports that the statement added that candidates pass through different levels of screening, including structured, merit-driven, and multi-layered, encompassing written examinations, performance benchmarks, background verification, petition review where applicable, and interviews conducted strictly in accordance with established guidelines.
“The Council notes with concern that the publication of inaccurate and speculative details has the potential to mislead the public and unjustly impugn the reputation of candidates who participated in the selection process in good faith.”
“In view of the foregoing, the NJC has commenced internal investigations to ascertain the source of the unauthorised press statement and will take appropriate steps to protect the integrity and credibility of its processes.”
“The Council reassures Nigerians that it remains firmly committed to transparency, fairness, due process, and the highest standards of judicial integrity, and urges media practitioners to always seek clarification through authorised channels before publishing reports on sensitive institutional matters,” the statement added.