CJN promotes Wike’s wife to Appeal Court bench

The wife of former governor of Rivers State, Justice Eberechi Wike has been promoted to the Court of Appeal.

Her promotion comes after a selection process, which saw only 22 judges out of 89 nominees selected to fill vacant positions following the retirement of some senior jurists.

The promotion was approved by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kayode Ariwoola, on April 2, 2024, and has been forwarded to President Tinubu for appointment.

According to a list obtained by The Gazette titled ‘Appointment of 22 justices to the Court of Appeal’ showed the new jurists were appointed from the pool of states and Federal High Court judges from all six geopolitical zones.

Justices Polycarp Tema Kwahar (Benue), Ruqayat Ayoola (Kogi), Eneche Eleojo (Kogi), Asmara Akanbi Yusuf (Kwara), Abdullahi Muhammad Liman (Nasarawa) and Abdu Dogo (FCT) were appointed North-Central.

Only Justice Fadahu Umaru, a Borno state indigene, was appointed from the North East.

For the North-West, approved justices are Ishaq Mohammed Sani (Kaduna), Zainab Bage Abubakar (Kebbi) and Abdulaziz M. Ankara (Zamfara).

Newly recommended judges from the South-East include Nnamdi Okwy Dimgba, (Abia) Victoria Toochukwu Nwoye (Anambra), Henry Aja-Onu Njoku (Ebonyi), Donatus Uwaezuoke Okorowo (Enugu) and Ngozika N Okaisabor (Imo).

For the South-South region, Justices Ntong Festus Ntong (Akwa-Ibom), Nehizena Idemudia Afolabi (Edo) and Ms Nyesom-Wike (Rivers) were recommended for promotion.

While justices Lateef Babajide Lawal-Akapo (Lagos), Abiodun Azeem Akinyemi (Ogun), Oyewumi Oyejoju Oyebiola (Oyo) and Bayo Ademola Taiwo (Oyo) were named for elevation in the South-West region.