No fewer than 34 lawyers nominated for appointment as Judges of the Federal High Court of Nigeria (FHCN) have failed the integrity test for appointment as Judicial Officers and hence dropped from the selection process.

The integrity test is part of the new guidelines approved by the National Judicial Council (NJC) under the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to disqualify persons of doubtful character from being appointed as judicial officers.

The 34 legal practitioners are part of the 62 applicants nominated for the bench of the high court but got disqualified by various petitions against them during the integrity test.

However, sources at the NJC, who pleaded anonymity, revealed that only 28 nominees who received a clean bill of health during the integrity test would now face the interview panel of the Council next month.

The source further stated that 62 applicants passed the Computer Based Test (CBT) examination conducted by the Federal High Court consequent upon which their names were forwarded to FJSC.

However, in line with the laid down procedure, the FJSC was said to have applied the policy of integrity test endorsed by Justice Kudirat KekereEkun on public feedback on nominees by publishing the names of the 62.

Upon the publication of nominees’ names on September 17, 2025, members of the public were invited to submit feedback on nominees’ integrity, reputation and suitability for judicial appointment.