Abuja-based lawyer Maxwell Opara has suggested that the 34 judicial nominees who recently failed an integrity test were disqualified because they lacked influential backers on the panel. Speaking on Arise Television, Opara challenged the panel to provide transparency by releasing the names of all applicants and the specific criteria used for the assessment. He argued that public disclosure of the petitions and the identities of those who conducted the interviews is the only way to prove the process was fair and thorough.
Opara expressed skepticism regarding the disqualifications, noting that from his information, very few formal petitions were actually submitted. He suggested that the individuals removed from the list might simply have lacked the necessary “connections” to panel members. To ensure public confidence in the judiciary, he urged the panel to make the facts of the screening process public, emphasizing that the integrity of the judiciary is critical to the behavior of politicians and the general public alike.
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