The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has been ‘eating’ deep into appointments into the upper echelon of judiciary which were hitherto dominated by career legal practioners in the Bench, National Daily reports. The new development may have become necessary because of the need to recruit the best hands in the public service.
The NBA had penultimate week nominated nine lawyers for appointment into the Supreme Court, the country’s apex court. Among those recommended for appointment as justices of the Supreme Court were Olisa Agbakoba, Awa Kalu, Yunus Usman, Anthony Idigbe, etc.
Thereafter, the NBA also nominated another set of 12 lawyers for appointment as Justices of the Court of Appeal.
National Daily gathered that the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, had requested the NBA to nominate “suitably qualified candidates for consideration for appointment to the Court of Appeal.”
The 12 nominees of the NBA for the Appeal court include: Nnamdi Ibegbu (SAN), from Anambra State, who was called to the Bar in 1979; Enewa Ifeyinwa, from Delta State, called to the Bar in 1980; Alma Eluwa, from Imo State, called to the Bar in 1983; a former Judge of the Court of Appeal, The Gambia, Adegoke Oluremi, called to the Bar in 1985; and Oladipo Tolani, from Kwara State, called to the Bar in 1988. Others include: Dr. Muhammad Alkali, from Borno State, called to the Bar in 1988; Prof. Nsongurua Udombana, from Akwa Ibom State, called to the Bar in 1989; Auwalu Mu’allimu, from Kano State, called to the Bar in 1990; Prof. Augustine Agom, from Benue State, called to the Bar in 1991; Gbadamosi Kazeem, from Oyo State, called to the Bar in 1993; Dr.Yemi Oke, from Ogun State, called to the Bar in 2001; and Dr. Ibrahim Abdullahi, from Sokoto State, called to the Bar in 2000.
NBA Secretary General, Isiaka Olagunju, had in a statement on Wednesday said that the 12 lawyers were selected from the 187 lawyers who indicated interest.
Olagunju disclosed that the lawyers were screened by a panel before they were chosen.