NJC Appoints New Judges, Elevates Justice Joseph Oyewole To The Supreme Court {Full List}

<h4>NJC Appoints New Judges<&sol;h4>&NewLine;<h4><&sol;h4>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><strong><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;">OpenLife Nigeria<&sol;a><&sol;strong> reports that the National Judicial Council &lpar;NJC&rpar; has recommended the appointment of 35 judges for courts across the country and the elevation of Justice Joseph Oyewole of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The NJC took the decision&comma; among others&comma; at its 110th Meeting held on 13 January 2026&comma; and presided over by the Chief Justice of Nigeria &lpar;CJN&rpar;&comma; Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>A statement by the NJC’s Deputy Director &lpar;DD&rpar; Information&comma; Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe&comma; said besides Justice Oyewole&comma; who currently presides at the Enugu division of the Court of Appeal&comma; the NJC approved 27 candidates for appointment as judges of various High Courts&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;31883" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-31883" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-31883" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2026&sol;01&sol;National-Judicial-Council-NJC-510x340-1-e1768474605702-300x131&period;webp" alt&equals;"NJC Appoints New Judges&comma; Elevates Justice Joseph Oyewole To The Supreme Court &lbrace;Full List&rcub;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"131" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-31883" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>National Judicial Council<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>They include six for Borno State High Court&comma; four for Niger High Court&comma; one for Benue&comma; one for Taraba&comma; six for Plateau&comma; four Delta and five for Ekiti HIgh Court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The NJC also recommended the appointment of six kadis for appointment to the Sharia Courts of Appeal in Niger&comma; Taraba&comma; and Katsina states&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>It recommended the appointment of three kadis for Niger&comma; two for Taraba and one for Katsina&period; The NJC also recommended the appointment of two judges to the Customary Court of Appeal in Delta State&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement said the &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;recommendations followed a rigorous screening process&comma; including the consideration of public complaints and interviews conducted by a <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;vanguardngr&period;com&sol;">seven-member Interview Committee&comma;<&sol;a> in line with the 2023 Revised NJC Guidelines and Procedural Rules for the Appointment of Judicial Officers&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The statement gave the names of those recommend for appointment as judges&comma; to include&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Borno State &lpar;Six Judges&rpar;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Mustapha&comma; Mallam Babagana<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Mustapha&comma; Hadiza Grema<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• James&comma; Peter Bwala<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Zannah&comma; Tijjani Babakura<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Alkali&comma; Alhaji Umar Dunoma<&sol;em><br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>• Yahaya Alhaji<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For Plateau State High Court&comma; the NJC recommended&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Maikai&comma; Andrawus&comma; Kparbong&comma; Tongret Nanman Nkwap&comma; Diane Ngummai Mantu&comma; John Ishaku Bature&comma; Gavou Musa Mallan and Kingsley Mangai&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For Ekiti High Court&comma; it recommended&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Adegoke&comma; Olanike Caroline Bamise&comma; Julius Sunday Bamidele Ajibare&comma; Julius Akinyede&comma; Stephen Rotimi Anoma&comma; Adefunke Helen&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For Niger&comma; the NJC recommended&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Abubakar&comma; Adamu Ahmed&comma; Bala Ndajiwo Gambo&comma; Sa’adatu Abubakar Wushishi&comma; Sulaiman Buhari&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Delta has four recommendations&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>Otite&comma; Jonah Akporuaro Sam-Oligida&semi; Jereoma Ukuli&comma; Boeye Irene Adamidenyo and Otome Benjamin&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Taraba has one – Babagari&comma; Mansura Mohammed as a judge of the High Court&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Niger State has three kadis&colon;<br &sol;>&NewLine;<em>Aboki&comma; Usman Abdulrahman&semi; Mohammed&comma; Ya’aba Muhammad&comma; and Nasir Ibrahim&period;<&sol;em><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For the Taraba State’s Court of Appeal&comma; <em>Yakubu&comma; Muhammad and Aliyu&comma; Yahaya Abubakar<&sol;em> were appointed as kadis&comma; while <em>Mutawakkil&comma; Mustapha Salis<&sol;em> was appointed as kadis for the Katsina State Sharia Court of Appeal&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>For the Delta State Customary Court of Appeal&comma; <em>Ojeikere&comma; Bridget Onome and Okah&comma; Stella Ovuorieroro<&sol;em> were recommended for appointment&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;15794" aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-15794" style&equals;"width&colon; 300px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignnone"><img class&equals;"size-medium wp-image-15794" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2022&sol;08&sol;court-gavel-300x160&period;jpg" alt&equals;"NJC Appoints New Judges&comma; Elevates Justice Joseph Oyewole To The Supreme Court &lbrace;Full List&rcub;" width&equals;"300" height&equals;"160" &sol;><figcaption id&equals;"caption-attachment-15794" class&equals;"wp-caption-text"><em><strong>Court<&sol;strong><&sol;em><&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;