The Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday fixed Wednesday for judgment on a suit that opposes the appointment of 21 persons on the list of 33 candidates recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari for appointment as judges of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.

The date for judgment was fixed by Justice Okon Abang after hearing parties to the suit which was instituted by a group of lawyers mostly Senior Advocates of Nigeria, the Justice Reform Project Foundation.

Buhari has since selected 11 of the names on the list recommended to him in April by the National Judicial Council and they have been sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Muhammad. But the plaintiff in its suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/602/2020 and filed on June 10, 2020, said the recommendation of the candidates by the National Judicial Council to the President was not proper, and added that the 21 candidates were unsuitable for the appointment.

Buhari, the NJC, the Judicial Service Committee of the FCT, the Attorney-General of the Federation and the 21 nominees have Joined as defendants in the suit.

The Chairman of the Governing Board of the JRP Foundation, Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN), in the affidavit filed in support of the group’s suit said that the recommendation of 21 of the candidates was hindered by “impropriety, anomalies and procedural irregularities”.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, the President’s lawyer, Suleiman Jibril, prayed the court to dismiss the suit and stated that the plaintiff sought to dictate to the President on whether or not to appoint the candidates.

Other defense lawyers comprising, Mahmud Magaji (SAN), Yunus Usman (SAN), and Abdul Ibrahim, also pray the court to dismiss the suit.

Ibrahim, who represented the 5th to 25th defendants, the candidates whose appointments were being challenged, urged the court to award N50m against the plaintiffs.