Ex NBA Scribe
A legal expert, Mr Chinedu Agu, has decried the absence of a Chief Judge in Imo, saying that it has left the state government, especially its judiciary arm, at a standstill.
Agu, who is a former secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Owerri, said this in an exclusive interview with our correspondent in Owerri, on Thursday.
Recall that the National Judicial Council, on April 29, directed the Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, to reverse the appointment of then Acting Chief Judge of the State, Justice Theophilus Nzeukwu.
The Council further directed the governor to appoint the most senior judicial officer in the State High Court’s hierarchy as the acting Chief Judge of the State in conformity with Section 271(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The position of the council on the controversial issue was made known in a statement signed by NJC’s Deputy Director of Information, Kemi Ogedengbe, in Abuja.
He condemned Gov. Hope Uzodinma’s delay in appointing a Chief Judge, saying that the consequences of such delay speak volumes about the government’s commitment to development and the people’s welfare.
He mentioned some of the consequences to include a stalling of the activities of the ministry of lands, as intending developers can neither apply for governor’s consent nor conduct due diligence on lands, as there is no Chief Judge to approve such applications.
This, he said, would naturally result in a halt in development and stagnated running of the state, leaving all major decisions in the hands of the executive arm.
“ The Ministry of Lands and the Judiciary are in the core of development in any state, and going by the Land Use Act, all lands in the state are under the control of the governor.
“ A developer would therefore need to obtain the governor’s consent to be able to conduct due diligence before proceeding with land acquisition.
“ In Imo state, this process is impossible as we speak because there has to be at least an Acting Chief Judge to facilitate it “, he said.
He added that with ongoing demolitions across the state and lawyers currently on vacation, it becomes imperative for a Chief Judge to set up vacation courts for citizens who feel offended by the demolitions to seek judicial redress.
“ The masses have no vacation courts to run to for the protection of their rights or to challenge the ongoing demolitions in different parts of the state because there is no Chief Judge in Imo.
“ There are three arms of government but Imo can currently boast of only two and this is both abnormal and illegal “, he said.
He further said that the situation has left police stations overtaken by detentions , without a substantive, fully functional judiciary, a situation which he said has made Imo appear like it is being run by a sole administrator.
He advised that since nobody can checkmate himself, it would be imperative to appoint an acting Chief Judge and further respect the independence of the judiciary, in the interest of the masses.