NJC tells Imo to include acting chief judge in shortlist for appointment

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has told Imo State to add the acting Chief Judge, Ijeoma Agugua, to the list of candidates for the substantive chief judge position. This decision follows the exclusion of Ms Agugua from the nominees submitted by the state’s judicial service commission.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the NJC directed the Imo State Judicial Service Commission to include Ms Agugua in its shortlist for the chief judge position. Kemi Babalola-Ogedengbe, NJC’s Deputy Director (Information), said this directive was given during the 112th meeting of the council held on November 3.

During this meeting, chaired by Chief Justice of Nigeria Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the council recommended 28 candidates for different judicial roles and made decisions on various disciplinary issues. The statement said, “Council also directed the Imo State Judicial Service Commission to include the name of the most senior Judge of the State High Court, the Acting Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Ijeoma Agugua, in the list of candidates for appointment as substantive Chief Judge of the State.”

The statement did not mention the names or the number of nominees from the judicial service commission’s original shortlist. The push to appoint a new chief judge has caused disagreements between the NJC and Imo State officials since the last chief judge, T. E. Chukwuemeka Chikeka, was forced to retire due to age falsification in November 2024.

The NJC’s recent decision shows that the state government has continued to oppose Ms Agugua's appointment. Even though she is the most senior High Court judge, the state chose a lower-ranking judge to act as chief judge instead.

This controversial choice led to the state High Court being inactive for months. The Nigerian Bar Association criticized this decision and the NJC rejected it for ignoring the seniority principle. In April 2025, the NJC also rejected the appointment of Theophilus Nzeukwu, who was ranked number four among the judges, as acting chief judge.

The NJC pointed out that Mr Nzeukwu’s appointment went against Section 271(4) of the Nigerian constitution, which says the governor must appoint the most senior judge of the High Court to act as chief judge when the position is vacant. The council also instructed that Mr Nzeukwu should be queried for accepting the acting chief judge position from Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma, which was against the constitution.

In June, two months after rejecting Mr Nzeukwu’s appointment and querying him, the NJC forced him into retirement for accepting the acting chief judge role. The NJC repeated its position, telling Governor Uzodimma to follow its order to swear in the state’s most senior judge.

The governor defended his choice of Mr Nzeukwu, saying he based it on “credible reports available to him at the time.” He stated that reports indicated Mr Nzeukwu was the “most senior judicial officer not encumbered by unresolved issues.” But the NJC insisted that the constitutional rules on acting appointments did not allow for any discretion.

Governor Uzodimma later agreed to follow the NJC’s orders. But while the state government accepted the NJC’s directive, it still insisted that Ms Agugua could only serve in an acting capacity. The NJC said it ordered the Imo State Judicial Commission to put Ms Agugua’s name on the list of nominees for the substantive chief judge after considering a petition from Bob Kay Njemanze dated June 11.

Mr Njemanze’s petition questioned why Ms Agugua was left out of the shortlist from the judicial service commission. The NJC’s statement did not mention the names or number of nominees submitted by the judicial service commission.

The NJC, which has a key role in appointing judges in Nigeria’s courts, asserted its power to tell the judicial service commission to add Ms Agugua’s name to the list of nominees for the chief judge position. The statement noted, “In considering the petition, Council noted that although the State Judicial Service Commission has the constitutional responsibility to advise the NJC on suitable candidates for appointment as Chief Judge, the Council retains the authority to determine the suitability of persons presented to it. It consequently directed its Secretariat to formally request the Imo State JSC to include the name of Hon. Justice I. O. Agugua in the shortlist.”

For the past two years, the Imo State judiciary has faced many issues. In November 2024, the then chief judge, Mr Chikeka, was retired over age falsification. This started the leadership crisis that has affected the state judiciary ever since. In June last year, the NJC recommended Mr Nzeukwu for compulsory retirement after he made himself available to be sworn in as acting chief judge, “knowing fully well that he was number four in the hierarchy of Judges of the Imo State Judiciary and contrary to Section 271 (4)” of the Nigerian constitution.