By Ayomide Olawale, JKNewsMedia Reporter
SEVERAL JUDGES of the Federal High Court have been redeployed to new divisions nationwide, following an administrative directive approved by Chief Judge John Tsoho.
The new postings, which took immediate effect, are aimed at enhancing efficiency and distributing the judicial workload more evenly across the country.
A formal statement released by the court’s Director of Information, Catherine Christopher, confirmed the redeployment and instructed the affected judges to prioritise concluding all pending judgments at their current stations before assuming new duties.
The directive underscores the urgency of maintaining judicial continuity while adapting to shifting operational needs.
Judges based in the Abakaliki and Katsina judicial divisions have now been assigned full responsibility for all ongoing and future cases in their new jurisdictions.
Additionally, all matters previously assigned to Court No. 5 in the Abuja Judicial Division will now be presided over by the newly assigned judge, eliminating the need for litigants or legal counsel to request case reassignment from the Chief Judge.
This internal restructuring comes amid continued efforts to optimise the Federal High Court’s functionality. A similar reshuffle in November 2023 saw 94 judges relocated following the appointment of 23 new members to the bench.
While the reassignments are part of standard judicial operations, the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe, has voiced concern over their frequency.
Speaking during the 2024/2025 Legal Year and Judges’ Conference in Abuja, he noted that repeated transfers could disrupt case flow and undermine timely access to justice, particularly in matters requiring long-term judicial familiarity.
Despite these concerns, the court maintains that such postings are crucial for sustaining institutional balance and clearing legal backlogs.
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.
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.
