Imo authorities reject demand to include Justice Agugua on shortlist — Premium Times Nigeria
The authorities of Nigeria’s Imo State have rejected the National Judicial Council of Nigeria’s (NJC) demand to include Acting Chief Judge Ijeoma Agugua on the shortlist of candidates for substantive appointment. Premium Times Nigeria reports.
State authorities’ position
State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Paul Obinatu said that the NJC has the constitutional right to consider the shortlist of candidates, but cannot determine whom the State Judicial Service Commission should submit for consideration. He cited Article 202 of Nigeria’s Constitution, under which the commission is not subject to the direction or control of other bodies in exercising its powers.
On November 3, the NJC instructed the Imo Judicial Service Commission to add Agugua to the shortlist of candidates. The council said that she is the most senior judge of the State High Court and that her exclusion from the list contradicts the constitutionally prescribed principle of appointment by seniority.
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Ongoing dispute
The dispute over the position of chief judge in Imo has continued since November 2024. The then chief judge, T. E. Chukwuemeka Chikeka, was forcibly retired over age falsification, according to Premium Times.
In April 2025, the NJC rejected the appointment of Theophilus Nzeukwu as acting chief judge because he ranked fourth in the state’s judicial hierarchy. The council stressed that the constitution requires the governor to appoint the most senior judge of the High Court to act temporarily if the position becomes vacant.
Following the NJC’s intervention, Governor Hope Uzodimma swore in Agugua as acting chief judge. At the same time, the state authorities did not support her candidacy for substantive appointment. Premium Times notes that without an agreed shortlist of candidates, it is impossible to extend her temporary appointment or appoint a substantive chief judge.
