The Nigerian Bar Association’s Bwari Branch faces an important deadline today, October 14, to submit professional comments on 20 candidates shortlisted for consideration for appointment as judges of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The consultation places the Bar within the assessment process before appointments progress, giving practitioners an opportunity to contribute information about the suitability of prospective judicial officers.
According to Lawyard, the request was contained in a September 24, 2026 letter from the FCT Judicial Service Committee to the branch chairman. The letter concerns the appointment of ten judges and invokes the revised National Judicial Council appointment guidelines.
The 20 shortlisted candidates come from eight states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Borno, Ebonyi, Lagos, Katsina, Osun and Sokoto. Abia and Ebonyi each account for four candidates, while the remaining six states have two each.
The distinction between shortlisting and appointment is important. The names forwarded to the Bar remain candidates under consideration; the consultation does not amount to their appointment or a declaration that every candidate has satisfied the entire selection process.
For practising lawyers, this is the stage at which relevant professional knowledge can inform institutional scrutiny. The consultation is especially consequential because judicial appointments shape courtroom experience long after the selection exercise ends.
The immediate development to watch is the branch’s submission and the subsequent progress of the appointment process. Any extension of today’s deadline would require a fresh notice from the responsible authority.
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