Federal High Court redeploys judges

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, John Tsoho, has approved the redeployment of some judges of the court to new divisions across the country.

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A statement from the court’s Director of Information, Catherine Christopher, on Sunday, said the posting took immediate effect.

“The affected Judges are to make their best endeavour to deliver all pending judgements in their current stations within the shortest possible time,” she said.

The statement further said the judges currently based in the Abakaliki and Katsina judicial divisions will now assume full responsibility for all pending and newly instituted cases in their respective divisions until further notice.

The statement noted that all cases pending before Court No. 5 in the Abuja Judicial Division will henceforth be handled by a judge newly posted to that court.

“Consequently, there is no need for litigants and /or counsel to apply to the Honourable Chief Judge for re-assignment of cases that have been pending before the Court,” the statement added.

The latest redeployments follow similar exercises in recent months, as the court seeks to improve judicial efficiency and balance workload across divisions.

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PREMIUM TIMES reported that in November 2023, the court undertook a major reshuffle involving 94 judges, following the appointment of 23 new ones.

While these moves are part of administrative process, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Afam Osigwe had expressed concern that frequent judge transfers could affect case continuity and access to justice, especially in sensitive or high-profile matters.

“When judges are uprooted and reassigned multiple times in a short span, they are deprived of the opportunity to develop the consistency and familiarity required to deliver timely and effective justice.

“This inevitably slows down the wheels of justice, leaving litigants in a limbo of uncertainty and delays,” Mr Osigwe said in a statement during the 2024/2025 Legal Year of the Federal High Court and Judges’ Conference in Abuja.

Read the full statement below:

PRESS RELEASE

*REDEPLOYMENT OF JUDGES IN THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT*

The Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Tsoho, KSS, OFR, FCIArb. (UK) has effected the redeployment of some Judges of the Court.

The redeployment of Judges is as follows:

1. Hon. Justice M. G. Umar redeployed from Enugu Judicial Division to Abuja.

2. Hon. Justice Tijjani Garba Ringim, from Gombe Division to Yola Division.

3. Hon. Justice M. T. Segun-Bello; from Abakaliki Division to Enugu Division.

4. Hon. Justice Bala Khalifa-Mohammed Usman; from Yola Division to Awka Division.

5. Hon. Justice Amina Aliyu Mohammed; from Awka Division to Gombe Division.

The redeployments take immediate effect. The affected Judges are to make their best endeavour to deliver all pending judgements in their current stations within the shortest possible time.

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Meanwhile, the Judges currently resident in the Abakaliki and Katsina Judicial Divisions shall take responsibility for all the cases already pending or newly instituted in their respective Divisions, until otherwise instructed.

In a related development, the general public is hereby notified that all cases pending before Court No. 5 in the Abuja Judicial Division will be attended to by the Judge who has been moved to Abuja for that purpose.

Consequently, there is no need for litigants and /or counsel to apply to the Hon. The Chief Judge for re-assignment of cases that have been pending before the Court.

Signed

CATHERINE OBY CHRISTOPHER, Ph.D,

Director of Information,

Federal High Court of Nigeria