Nigeria has more than 60 appeal court judges, not 35

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo submitted a list of 20 names to the Judicial Council of Ghana in April for potential appointment to the Court of Appeal. The move sparked backlash, with critics arguing that the number of judges in the country was already too high. Social media users claimed that Nigeria only had 35 judges in comparison despite its larger geographical size and population. But AFP Fact Check found the claim to be false:  Nigeria has 66 appeal court judges.

“In neighboring Nigeria, they have thirty five (35) Court of Appeal Judges, five judges for each district. How can Ghana have fifty one (51) Court of Appeal justices? …(sic),” reads a post published on X on April 7, 2024.

The Ghanaian account that shared the misleading claim has more than 134,000 followers.

Akufo-Addo's recommendations (archived here), if endorsed by the Judicial Council, would see the number of Court of Appeal judges in Ghana rise from 33 to 53 (archived here).

Ghana’s judicial system consists of five levels of courts. These include district courts, circuit courts, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court (archived here).

Nigeria Court of Appeal judges

The claim that Nigeria has 35 Court of Appeal judges is false.

The Nigerian Court of Appeal comprises 66 judges appointed by the head of state and confirmed by the country’s National Judicial Council (archived here).

“The judges listed on our website are currently in active service and that list is up to date,” the court told AFP Fact Check.

The website is regularly updated to reflect changes such as the retirement, transfer and death of a serving judge.

According to Ghanaian media reports (here and here), Akufo-Addo presented a list of 20 individuals to the Judicial Service Commission, contradicting the claim of 21 made in the post (archived here and here).