FJSC nominates six Igbo for Supreme Court

Federal Judicial Service Commission, FJSC, nominates six judges of Igbo extraction to serve in the Supreme Court.

They are among 20 nominees submitted to the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC) for confirmation.

The 20 justices were nominated for the apex bench positions recently depleted through retirements to deaths.

Two of the published names – Justices Simone Tsammani and Stephen Adah – served in the 2023 Presidential Election Court.

Southeast and Northeast, two zones most affected by deaths and retirements, took the lion share of six nominations each.

With the death of Justice Centus Nweze on in July this year, the Southeast was no longer represented in the Court.

Three other regions – Southwest, South-South, and Northeast – have two nominees each, while North-central and Northwest have four each.

Ten of the justices were penciled down as priority appointments while another 10 will remain as reserves. 

When confirmed, the reserves will make it seamless to replace justices as they leave the Supreme Court.

All the justices whose nominations were forwarded to the National Judicial Council currently serve in the Federal Court of Appeal.

The Southeast Nominees

The Southeast nominees to the Supreme Court include:

Justice Chidiebere Nwaoma Uwa

Justice Uwa (65) from Isiala Ngwa, was called to the bar in 1983 and has been on the bench for 25 years. She was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 18 July 2006. Uwa began her studies at the University of Nairobi but left after one year for the University of Buckingham She graduated 1982 and attended the Nigerian Law School in 1983. She was first appointed to the high court of Abia State 1998.

Justice Chioma E. Nwosu-Iheme

Justice Nwosu-Iheme (64) was called to the bar in 1982 and appointed to the high court of Imo State in 1995. The Nkwere, Imo State justice has been on the bench for 28 years. She schooled at University of Lagos, Nigeria Law School and the University of Nigeria at Enugu Campus. She was appointed to the Appeal Court on 15 February 2008.

Justice Theresa Ngolika Orji-Abadua

Justice Orji-Abadua (64) is from Ikeduru in Imo State. She has sat on the bench for 27 years. She was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 15 February 2008. Orji-Abadua read law at the London Metropolitan University, Nigeria Law school and the School of Arts and Social Sciences of Northumbria University in the UK.

Justice Obande Festus Ogbuinya

Ogbuinya (58), from Ohaukwu in Ebonyi State was called to the bar in 1989 and has been on the bench for 21 years. He had his law training at the University of Nigeria and the Nigeria Law School. He was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 30 November 2010.

Justice Anthony Ogakwu

Ogakwu (59), from Udi in Enugu State, was called to the bar in 1985 and has been on the bench for 20 years. He became a judge of the high court of FCT Abuja on 17 December 2003 and was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 24 March 2014. Ogakwu schooled at the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) Enugu for one year before proceeding to the University of Nigeria and the Nigeria Law School for his law training.

Justice Onyekachi Aja Otisi

Otisi (63) from Ohafia in Abia State was called to the bar in 1980. She has been on the bench for 25 years, following her first appointment to the High Court of Abia State in November 1998. She was appointed to the Court of Appeal on 5 November 2012. Justice Otisi had her legal training at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University) Ile Ife, the University of Lagos, and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Other nominees

	Moore Aseimo Adumein Bayelsa/South-South/Priority		Haruna Simon Tsammani* Bauchi/Northeast Priority
	Biobele Georgewill  Rivers/South-South/Reserve		Abubakar Talba Adamawa/Northeast/Reserve
	Habeeb Adewale Olumuyiwa Abiru Lagos/Southwest/Priority		Muhammad Lawal Shuaibu Jigawa/Northwest/Priority
	Joseph Olubunmi Kayode Oyewole  Osun/Southwest/Reserve		Balkisu Bello Aliyu (F) Zamfara/Northwest/Reserve
	Jummai Hannatu Sankey (F) Plateau/NorthCentral/Priority		Abubakar Sadiq Umar Kebbi/Northwest/Priority
	Muhammad Ibrahim Sirajo  Plateau/NorthCentral/Reserve		Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero Kano/Northwest/Reserve
	Stephen Jonah Adah* Kogi/NorthCentral/Priority
	Ridman Maiwada Abdullahi Nassarawa/NorthCentral/Reserve