By Olatunbosun Obafemi
The federal government has nominated Dr. Taoheed Olufemi Elias as Nigeria’s candidate for election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations based in The Hague, Netherlands.
In a statement on Tuesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yusuf Tuggar described Elias as “one of the most respected figures in the field of international law,” citing his decades of scholarship, service to the global community, and commitment to justice, equity, and the rule of law.
“His contributions embody the ideals upon which the ICJ was founded and the values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,” Tuggar said, adding that the nomination reflects Nigeria’s commitment to a rules-based international order where all nations have an equal voice.
Elias, currently serving as an ad hoc judge at the ICJ, would become the fourth Nigerian to sit on the court’s bench if elected, following in the footsteps of Charles Onyeama, Bola Ajibola, and his father, the late Taslim Olawale Elias. His father served as an ICJ judge from 1976 to 1991, including terms as president and vice president.
Presenting Elias to UN diplomats in New York on Monday, Nigeria’s Chargé d’Affaires Samson Itegboje noted the nominee’s deep legal roots. “Born into a jurist family, Dr. Elias has learned the ropes of dispensing good judgment from childhood,” Itegboje said, adding that his background and expertise have shaped his approach to international law.
Established in 1945, the ICJ is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms, drawn from the world’s major legal systems. It adjudicates disputes between sovereign states and issues advisory opinions on legal questions referred by UN bodies and agencies.
Nigeria is calling on the international community to back Elias’s candidacy, with Tuggar expressing confidence that his election would “strengthen the cause of global justice and advance the peaceful settlement of disputes among nations.”
