By:Monday Danladi, Bauchi
Bauchi State Governor, Sen Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, has been called to urgently take necessary action to correct the perceived mistake in the appointment of Seven new High Court Judges in the State.
The call was made by the Leadership of the Bauchi Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), led by Rabiu Garba ESQ, during a Press conference on the position of the NBA, Bauchi Branch regarding the Public Notice for appointment of Seven High Court Judges, Five Females and Two Males for Bauchi State, 2026.
The NBA stressed that the call on the Governor became expedient because, “He is who we know to be a respecter of the law to take note of this development and act appropriately so that a bad precedent would not be set in the overall interest of the judiciary in Bauchi State.”
The NBA stated that the Bauchi State Judicial Service Commission has published a Public Notice with Reference Number BAS/JSC/S/APP/3/VOL.III dated 27th April, 2026 captioned: Appointment of Seven (7) High Court Judges (Five Females and Two Males for Bauchi State, 2026, on the basis of which the leadership of the NBA, Bauchi Branch, was served with a letter dated the same 27th April, 2026.
It stated further that the public became aware of the notice the most attractive aspect of which is the segregation between females and males and consequent upon the development, some members of the Branch, out of genuine concern and considering the discriminatory nature of the notice which is against the spirit of the words and letters of Section 42(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), urged on the leadership to convene an emergency Congress meeting of the Branch with a view to to deliberating on the matter.
The section provides: “A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person –
a. be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the Government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex. Religions or political opinions are not made subject…”
Considering the motto of the Nigerian Bar Association: “Promoting the Rule of Law”, and in response to the concerns of its members, the leadership of the branch convened an emergency meeting on the 15th day of May, 2026, at the Bauchi Bar Centre.
At the meeting, which had an overwhelming number of members in attendance, the topic, as captioned by the Public Notice, was placed before the Congress for deliberation.
And after about Two hours of deliberation, the Congress arrived at the following resolutions: That the NBA Bauchi Branch commended my Lord, Honourable Justice Rabi Talatu Umar for securing the Seven slots for Bauchi State and that as a body whose motto is to promote the Rule of Law, the NBA Bauchi Branch should not fold its arms and watch when the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is being breached knowingly or otherwise.
It also resolved that the gender classification, which the appointment exercise emphasizes, should be jettisoned in favor of integrity, competence, capacity and capability of the aspirants/applicants regardless of gender.
“This, the Congress believes, will go a long way in uplifting both the intellectual and moral standing of the Bauchi judiciary in the long run,” It added.
The NBA further resolved that the process should be transparently accessible to all qualified aspirants/applicants as encapsulated under S. 271 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as Amended.
And in the light of this, the Congress demanded on the Commission to jettison the tacit ostracizing of qualified legal practitioners outside the judiciary constituency – legal practitioners from the Official and Private Bar.
That the best interest of justice would better be served through allowing a leveled playing ground for all qualified aspirants/candidates to display their God-given talents through-out the exercise; and when we pick the best from such process, it is the state that finally wins.
It is common knowledge that a vibrant judiciary churns out the best judges and lawyers to the nation, just as an intellectually weak and dormant judiciary supplies the worst judges and lawyers to the world.
“From the foregoing, therefore, we strongly call on the Chairman of the Bauchi State Judicial Service Commission and Chief Judge of Bauchi State, Justice Rabi Talatu Umar to review the entire arrangement in line with the congressional resolutions highlighted hereinbefore with a view to engendering fairness in the exercise and to ensure obedience to law and order,” It added.
According to the NBA,”We are optimistic that the Commission will respond positively to our measures necessary to ensure that the law is obeyed. concerns. In the event of failure to address our concerns, we shall take all.”
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