The Gombe state judiciary came to being on 1^st October, 1996 with the state creation out of the defunct Bauchi state.

The judiciary of Gombe state took off with only four high court judges who were appointed in the former Bauchi state and deployed to Gombe state.

Apart from the high court’s there were also twelve (23) magistrate courts, eight (8) upper area courts and (54) area courts.

The first chief judge of the state was Hon. Justice zainab a. bulkachuwa who was later elevated to the court of appeal and now the president of the court of appeal. Her tenure as the chief judge was very brief and most challenging. Despite the abject scarcity of basic infrastructure facilities and lack of takeoff grants, she made a considerable impact inlaying the necessary foundation for the successful take off and development of the judiciary from ground zero, especially in the area of manpower development.as the head of court and chairman judiciary service commission, she facilitated the appointment of more  high court judges, magistrates, upper and area judges, court members and area courts inspector to set a sound foundation for the young judiciary.

Public expectation in the judiciary was generally high.a number of pending cases were transferred from the former Bauchi high court to Gombe on jurisdiction ground while new cases were pilling in. this, therefore, necessitate the need to increase the number of the courts and reinforce the workforce in order to meet up the growing yearnings and aspiration of the good people of the young state.

With the elevation of Hon. Justice zainab  A.bulkachuwa  to the court of appeal in 1999 Hon.justice Hakila Hakila Y.Heman , who was the next most senior judge, was appointed the new chief judge of the state. He was sworn in om4th May, 1999 He assumed office at a lot of teething problems. The infrastructure facilities were very poor and insufficient, beyond comment.