By Chinedu Max Egere
Following the controversies trailing the appointment of the Chief Judge of Imo state,an elder statesman,Prince Bob Njemanze has alerted the state governor, Senator Hope Uzodimma on the actions of the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice,Paul Obinatu Esq which he considered as erroneous and capable of affecting the administration of justice in the state.
Prince Bob Njemanze is drawing the attention of the governor,Senator Uzodimma so that he would use his good offices to correct the anomaly and restore the judicial administrative order in the state.
In the letter signed by the respected Prince, addressed to the Chairman,Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee,Body of Benchers Secretariat, Abuja,he avered that by the virtue of the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice ,Imo state who is the Chief Law Officer of Imo state,his official pronouncements carry considerable weight and can affect the relations between the executive and the judiciary,public conference in the justice system and the professional standing of the legal profession.
Prince Njemanze further stated that the acting tenure of Hon.Justice Ijeoma Agugua as the chief Judge had been extended for a period running from approximately 26th March,2026 to 26th June,2026 and that the process for the appointment of a substantive Chief Judge of Imo state had reportedly not been concluded by 26th June,2026.
The letter disclosed that the National Judicial Council subsequently communicated a decision or recommendation relating to the continuation of Hon.Justice Ijeoma Agugua in office for a further period of three months,reported running from 26th of June 2026 to 26th September ,2026 and that the said communication from the National Judicial Council to the governor was reportedly dated 30th of June,2026.
According to the Owerri- born Prince,the Attorney-General, notwithstanding the foregoing,issued an official letter dated 8th of July,2026 to the governor of the Eastern Bar Forum and copied the chairman of the six Nigerian Bar Association branches in Imo state and that in the said letter,he described Hon.Agugua as the ‘former Acting Chief Judge’ and stated categorically that her acting tenure had expired on the 26th of June,2026.
Prince Njemanze’s letter also disclosed that the Attorney-General declared in his letter that the office of the Chief Judge of Imo was vacant and that there was neither a substantive nor an Acting Chief Judge in the state at the time and demanded that the invitation which the Eastern Bar Forum had extended to Hon.Agugua be withdrawn.
Prince Njemanze said that the letter of the National Judicial Council raises serious questions as to whether the Attorney-General had access to its communication before issuing his letter making reference to the Section 271(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, expressly recognizes the constitutional role of the National Judicial Council in relation to the continuation of an acting appointment beyond the initial three- month period.
He maintained that the status of the head of a State Judiciary is therefore a matter of serious constitutional importance and ought not to be determined by an unverified administrative declaration.
The revered Public Affairs Analyst insisted that even where the Imo Attorney-General was genuinely unaware of the NJC’s communication, the gravity of the matter required him as the Chief Law Officer of Imo state,to verify the position from the Governor’s office,the National Judicial Council,the Office of the Acting Chief Judge or other relevant official sources before making a categorical declaration of ‘vacancy’.
Prince Njemanze further said that this action by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice is capable of conveying the impression that the Executive Governor of Imo state could determine or reject the status of the head of the State Judiciary without regard to the constitutionally relevant role of the National Judicial Council and that the letter generated uncertainty and public controversy concerning the leadership and independence of the Imo State Judiciary.
Prince Njemanze is therefore requesting the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, to investigate whether the Attorney-General’s letter was issued independently in the discharge of his professional responsibilities or as an instrument for advancing an executive or political position against the Judiciary as he deems such a conduct as unprofessional.
‘If it is established that the Imo Attorney-General knowingly,recklessly or without adequate verification issued a false or misleading declaration concerning the leadership of the Judiciary,such conduct may be inconsistent with those professional obligations and that the Legal Practitioners Act permits disciplinary proceedings where a practitioner has engaged in professional infamous conduct or other conduct incompatible with the status of a legal practitioner’.Prince Njemanze declared.
It should be recalled that the name of Hon.Justice Ijeoma Agugua who is currently the most senior Judge was not included on the list forwarded to the National Judicial Council for the position of the substantive Chief Judge of Imo to the chargrin of the public which sparked controversies and the governor would be expected to intervene in this issue raised by Prince Bob Njemanze to save the image of the state Judiciary.
