Chief Judge Displaces Others, Nominates Daughter as Third Kogi Judge on FCT High Court

Chief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory High Court Husseini Baba-Yusuf is on the brink of seating his daughter as one of the newest judges in the system, Peoples Gazette found, meshing contentiously with Chief Justice Kayode Ariwoola and other members of the legal elite who have turned the judiciary into premium job racket for family members.

As with the case of Oluwakemi Victoria Ariwoola, earlier reported by The Gazette, the nomination of Maryam Baba-Yusuf also necessarily involved stunting the career progression of other magistrates from everyday households in at least four states, our findings showed. It was unclear why Mr Baba-Yusuf prioritised his daughter as the third judge from Kogi on the FCT High Court when Abia, Imo, Bayelsa and Ebonyi each has no single judge on the court and the Nigerian federal character policy codified in Chapter Two of the Constitution required staffing the 70-person bench equitably among citizens from the 36 states and the capital Abuja.

Mr Baba-Yusuf has also accepted Munira Ibrahim Tanko, a junior magistrate and daughter of erstwhile Chief Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, as a candidate from Bauchi, a state that already has Babangida Hasan on the court. Similarly, Kogi already has Eleojo Enenche and the chief judge himself, while Oyo, which Oluwakemi Ariwoola represents, has Mohammed Alhaji Madugu and Ajoke Adepoju. His decision, if allowed to stand, would give Kogi and Oyo three judges each, while Bauchi would have two.

A spokesman for the court declined comments on Wednesday afternoon, saying Mr Baba-Yusuf would only comment after the process has been finalised. But the chief judge’s action so far has already drawn attention, with a letter from a civic group warning that his action could undermine the Nigerian Constitution