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His Lordship, Hon. Justice Paul Bassi and 8 other judges have been sworn in as the Justices of the Court of Appeal today Wednesday 20th September 2023 by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Olukayode Ariwoola GCON at the Supreme Court of Nigeria Complex, Abuja.
Historically, Justice Bassi became the 2nd Judge of the National Industrial Court to be elevated to the appellate court since the inception of the court as a superior court of record.
The National Industrial Court has exclusive jurisdiction on civil causes and matters relating to or connected with any labour, employment, trade unions, industrial relations and matters arising from workplace, the conditions of service, including health, safety, welfare of labour, employee, worker, and matters incidental thereto or connected therewith, amongst others.
His Lordship, Hon. Justice Paul Bassi hails from Borno State, North East Nigeria and prior to his appointment as the Hon. Judge of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria in 2017, he was a Chief Legal Officer with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) where he served for about 12 years.
Hon Justice Bassi holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from the renowned University of Maiduguri, Borno State and attended the Nigeria Law School from 1999 to 2000.
Furthermore, upon his call to the Bar as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in October 2000, Justice Bassi undertook the compulsory One year National Youth Service at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s legal and secretarial department.
As destiny decreed, he joined the law firm of Oluwole Akanle & Co. before moving to the ICPC in the year 2005.
At ICPC, Justice Bassi rose through the ranks and headed a team of lawyers as a Chief Legal Officer who specialized in high-profile and Appellate matters. He successfully prosecuted and secured numerous convictions on behalf of the Commission in various courts across Nigeria and added to his credit numerous feats at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.
His dedication and astuteness to duty were recognized and noted by the conferment of several awards and Letters of Commendation from the ICPC’s legal department and Board.
Justice Bassi is a member of the International Association of Prosecutors as well as the Unity Bar, Abuja. He has attended courses in the United Arab Emirates and the Russian Federation and numerous others organized by the DFID’s Justice For All program and the United States of America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Justice Bassi has also attended at different times, training and seminars at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies.
He was a part of the team that served as Legal Consultants to the House of Representatives on the drafting of the Watershed Pension Reform Act of 2004 amongst many others.
Justice Bassi was appointed as a Judge of the National Industrial Court in 2017 and has delivered many notable and laudable judgments and rulings that have enriched the labour jurisprudence in Nigeria and beyond.
My Lord is happily married and blessed with children.
