Nigeria’s ICJ Candidate, Dr Olufemi Elias, Declares: “I’m The Most Qualified For The Hague Seat”

Nigeria’s nominee for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague, Dr Olufemi Elias, has confidently stated that he is “the most qualified” among the contenders vying for the prestigious judicial seat.

In an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York, Elias said his wide-ranging experience across academia, international law, and judicial service gives him an edge.

“My profile ticks all the boxes,” he said. “I started as an academic, spent 20 years at the UN and rose to the level of Assistant Secretary-General. I currently serve in various judicial capacities, including as a Judge Ad Hoc of the ICJ itself.”

He emphasised that while his rivals — Charles Jalloh and Pheobe Okowa — possess strong academic backgrounds, they lack the “knowledge of the workings of the multilateral system” and “actual judicial experience” that distinguish his candidacy.

The upcoming election will fill the vacant ICJ seat left by Judge Abulqawi Yusuf, whose term expires in February 2027. Voting will take place simultaneously in the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.

Elias’s campaign has received strong backing from the Nigerian government, with several diplomatic events organised to promote his candidacy.

A seasoned international lawyer, Elias currently serves as President of the Administrative Tribunal of the OPEC Fund for International Development and Chairman of the Islamic Development Bank Administrative Tribunal. He is also a Judge Ad Hoc at the ICJ and a member of the elite Institut de Droit International, one of the world’s most respected legal institutions.

His distinguished career includes roles as UN Assistant Secretary-General, Legal Adviser and Director at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and Executive Secretary of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal.

Elias also comes from a storied legal lineage — his late father, Taslim Elias, was a former ICJ President, Chief Justice of Nigeria, and Attorney-General, remembered as the first African to earn a PhD in Law from the University of London.

If elected, Dr Olufemi Elias will become the fourth Nigerian to serve on the ICJ bench — and the first since 1994 — following in the footsteps of Charles Onyeama, Bola Ajibola, and Taslim Elias.