Nigeria has nominated Dr Olufemi Elias as the country’s candidate to lead the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Netherlands, for the term running from 2027 to 2036.
The ICJ is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations which was set up in 1945 after the World War II to settle disputes within states in line with international law.
The World Court has a panel of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council for a nine-year term. An election for a seat at the Court is expected to hold in 2026.
Elias is currently Judge Ad Hoc at ICJ and a full member of the Institut de Droit International. He has extensive experience as a lawyer and leader in various international organisations, including serving as a UN Assistant Secretary-General and as the Legal Adviser and Director at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at The Hague.
If elected, Dr. Elias, who is also the Secretary-General of the African Association of International Law, will be the fourth Nigerian to sit at the ICJ, after Charles Onyeama, Bola Ajibola, and Taslim Elias.
The Nigerian candidate was formally presented to the UN diplomatic corps at the Nigeria House in New York by the Charge d’Affaires of the Permanent Mission of Nigeria to the UN, Ambassador Samson Itegboje.
Itegboje said the Nigerian candidate is eminently qualified for the post, besides his considerable experience in the field, having had a long service at the United Nations.
He said: “Since 1960, Nigeria has been making significant contributions, in terms of participation in cases before the ICJ, and in promoting the ICJ’s role in global dispute resolution.
“Through these efforts we can state without being immodest that Nigeria has contributed significantly to the development of international law.
“It is important to recall that our legal experts and diplomats have participated in legal submissions, particularly in cases dealing with territorial disputes, human rights, and maritime law.”
The envoy told the international community that Nigeria had fully abided by all decisions of the ICJ that were binding on it, pursuant to Article 59 of the Statute of the Court.
“Nigeria has also subjected herself to the jurisdiction of the Court during her dispute with Cameroun over the territory of Bakassi and also obeyed the ruling of the Court.
“Nigerian lawyers also participate in advisory proceedings before the Court whenever requests are made by the General Assembly for such opinions.
“We are doing all these because Nigeria is mindful of the fact that the ICJ is an important Organ of the United Nations that has engendered peaceful settlement of international disputes, thereby contributing to the promotion of world peace.”
Itegboje said Nigeria had been actively involved in the election of judges to the ICJ, with Nigerian nationals having served on the Court, including Charles Onyeama (1966 to 1976) and Bola Ajibola (1991 to1994) who distinguished themselves during their terms at the Court.
“It would interest you all to also note that the father of the candidate we are introducing today, Taslim Olawale Elias, a prominent Nigerian jurist, was a judge at the ICJ from 1976 to 1991 and his tenure marked significant contributions to international law, especially in shaping the court’s jurisprudence in various areas, having served as President and as Vice President of the Court.
“In light of the foregoing, I can categorically state that Dr. Taoheed Olufemi Elias, himself currently a judge ad hoc at the ICJ, is not just a renowned international lawyer with vast experience in the practice of international law and academics but born into a jurist family and has learned the ropes of dispensing good judgment from his childhood.”
Dr. Elias said he had “demonstrated this in his career, which focused on public international law for 35 years in various capacities as an academia, in practice, as an international civil servant and as a judge”.
He added: “When we put together all those qualifications, I think that’s what set me in good stead.
“As far as international adjudication is concerned, it’s well known that Nigeria is a very good public citizen that always respects its international obligations, always takes judgments very seriously, especially in the case of judgments issued by the ICJ.”
The Minister Counselor and the United Nations Elections Officer for Nigeria’s Permanent Mission, Mohamed Mahmud, said the large number of diplomats that graced Elias’ unveiling was a testament to the respect and goodwill Nigeria has earned and enjoyed within the global diplomatic circle.
According to him, Elias’ nomination as Nigeria’s candidate for the ICJ in 2026 is a perfect representative because he is incredibly competent and easily the most accomplished Nigerian international lawyer alive today.
Mahmud said the regional balancing also favoured Elias’ candidacy adding, Nigeria is using all its diplomatic weight to ensure Elias’ candidacy was successful.
Mahmud said the successful outing at the presentation of Elias was a good omen that portended a successful outing for the Nigerian candidate at the election in 2026 adding, Nigeria and the candidate have intensified engagements through courtesy visits to Ambassadors to the UN.
Elias is the President of the Administrarive Tribubal of the OPEC Fund for International Development, and Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Administrarive Tribubal as well as a former President and member of the Appeals’ Committee of OPEC.
Elias was elected in 2015 as a member of the prestigious Institute de Droit International, body reserved for elite international legal scholars, the second of only two Nigerians to have been elected since its establishment in 1873.
In 2018, he received the honorary life membership award of the American Society of International Law, adjudged the most prominent international law association in the world, for his distinguished contributions and service in the field of international law.
He was a UN Assistant Secretary General & Head of the UN’s International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals and previously served as a Judge for Staff Appeals at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (Hague) and as Executive Secretary of the World Bank Administrarive Tribubal in Washington, DC.
He was a Legal Adviser and Director of the Legal Division of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and a one-time Legal Adviser at UN Compensation Commission.
He is an accomplished international legal scholar and also a visiting professor in international law at Queen Mary University of London and the University of Buckingham.
His Father, Taslim Elias, who helped draft Nigeria’s first constitution, was President and Judge at the ICJ, Chief Justice of Nigeria and Attorney-General of Nigeria who in 1949, became the first African to earn a Ph.D in law from the University of London and in 1982, rose to become the first African to be the President of ICJ.
