Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment, held that the plaintiffs lacked locus standi to institute the action and that the suit itself lacked merit.
In the originating summons dated Jan. 4 but filed Jan. 8, they sought a declaration that the selected candidates for onward transmission to NJC for appointment as judges was not “totally based on merits, competence, sound knowledge of the law, professional expertise and skill, seniority, fairness, equity and equality.”
The chief judge of the state, in a letter to the Lokoja Branch of Nigerian Bar Association , shortlisted some judicial officers to be appointed into the state’s High Court, Sharia Court of Appeal and Customary Court of Appeal. He said while the court was aware that the courts had expanded the realms of locus standi in some cases to include public interest litigation, there are still limits to it.
“This court will not be used to answer any academic or hypothetical question which does not touch on real or threatened breach of rights.“The plaintiffs, even though are indigenes of Kogi State, cannot take the place of the people of Okun origin and Ibaji LGA, as they are the ones who have supposedly suffered the said injury.Justice Omotosho further held that assuming without conceding that the plaintiffs had locus standi, he wondered if instituting the action was the right course of action.
According to him, the intention and purpose of this is to bring all the complaints of the different branches of NBA to the notice of NJC through the president. “The recommendation of the NJC is upon the advice by the Kogi State Judicial Service Committee,” he said “Thus allegations of bias made against the defendants holds no water in the light of the facts put forward by the defendants.Justice Omotosho equally held that though the plaintiffs alleged that most of the courtrooms of the High Court of Kogi had been neglected and were in a state of disrepair, he said that Okutepa, 2nd plaintiff in the suit, during oral examination as 1st prosection witness, admitted that he was not the maker of the video evidence or the photographs.
Source: Law Daily Report (lawdailyreport.net)
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