How Judge Nominee Failed Integrity Test
Chief Justice of Nigeria, Kudirat Kekere-Ekun
A judge nominee from the Nigerian Police Force has lost her chance of appointment to the Federal High Court following allegations of collecting a ₦1 million bribe, a report carried by Gavel International indicated.
Blessing Nkechi Ezeala, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) serving at the Force Headquarters, Abuja, and representing Imo State, was among 62 nominees screened for appointment as judges of the Federal High Court. However, a petition submitted by a member of the public ultimately derailed her candidacy.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun, in a bid to end corruption and controversy surrounding judicial appointments, has introduced strict measures for prospective judges. One of these is the Public Feedback system, which allows members of the public to comment on the integrity, reputation, and suitability of nominees prior to appointment.
In all, 62 applicants passed the Computer-Based Test (CBT) conducted by the Federal High Court, after which their names were forwarded to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC). In line with the CJN’s public feedback policy, the FJSC published the names of the nominees in national newspapers on 17 September 2025, inviting the public to submit feedback.
It was through this process that Ezeala was exposed. A petitioner, Alhaji Abubakar Yahaya, wrote to the FJSC alleging that she had collected a ₦1 million bribe from him. In a petition signed by his lawyer, Sanni Abbas of Douglas, Abbas and Gideon Law Firm, Abuja, Alhaji Yahaya detailed the alleged incident.
According to the petition, the incident occurred on 16 January 2025 when Alhaji Yahaya received a call from his security guards informing him that police officers and a court enforcement team were at his residence. He reportedly went to the house and instructed his guards to allow them to carry out their duties. While there, officers from Zone 7 Police Command allegedly arrived and arrested him without a warrant, claiming there was a petition against him and that the arrest was on the instruction of the Officer-in-Charge of the Legal Section, Zone 7 Command, Mrs. Blessing Nkechi Ezeala.
The petitioner stated that he was taken to Zone 7 Command, Abuja, where he made a statement. He alleged that Ezeala refused to grant him bail until a proxy, said to be her friend, collected the sum of ₦1 million as a bribe before he was released on bail.
The petition further revealed that the matter was reported to the Police Service Commission (PSC), which constituted a panel of inquiry. In its report dated 3 February 2025, the Commission reportedly found that the ₦1 million was collected through one Umar Tahir via Fidelity Bank account number 5600614399, part of which was later transferred to the account of one Jane Ugonma Oleka.
Further investigation allegedly showed that the sum of ₦995,000 was traced from the account of Jane Ugonma Oleka to the United Bank for Africa (UBA) account of Blessing Nkechi Ezeala (account number 2055792545) on 15 January 2025.
The petition concluded that the character of the nominee demonstrated a clear lack of integrity, a failure in reputation assessment, and rendered her wholly unsuitable for appointment as a judge of the Federal High Court of Nigeria. It also commended the leadership of the judiciary for taking bold steps to sanitise the judicial system.
Out of the 62 nominees whose names were published, only 28 were shortlisted, while 34 failed the integrity test.
According to the Deputy Director of Information of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Mrs. Kemi Babalola Ogedengbe, the 28 shortlisted nominees will undergo further scrutiny at the Council’s meeting scheduled for 13 and 14 January 2026.
