Uzodinma Commended For Appointing Ijeoma Aguga As Acting Chief Judge

–  Lawyers Urge Him To Address Vacancy In Attorney General’s Office

The Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma has been commended by a cross section of Imo people for appointing Justice Ijeoma Agugua, the most senior Judge in the Imo State judiciary as the Acting Chief Judge of Imo State in line with the directives of the National Judicial Council (NJC).

A prominent Imo lawyer, Barr Ephraim Okafor, Head of Practice, Okemuo Chambers,  while applauding the development said, “This is no mere formality. It is a salute to the doctrine of judicial precedence, a reaffirmation of Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and a nod to the unwritten but deeply respected traditions of bench seniority—a tradition that preserves order in the temple of justice. His Lordship Justice Aguguo is not just the most senior in rank; she is a judicial amazon whose robes carry decades of fidelity to justice, temperance, and truth”.

According to him, “the governor has by this singular act proved that the executive arm of government can walk in step with judicial integrity—a move that should not go unnoticed by the legal community and lovers of democracy alike.

“Having said that, I also urge the Governor to as a matter of urgency fill the vacancy in the Attorney General’s office. The absence of a Chief Law Officer creates a lacuna, “too perilous to be ignored. Without the Attorney General, the executive’s relationship with justice risks imbalance; prosecutions stall, legal opinions falter, and the rule of law limps where it should leap. Section 195(1) of the Constitution mandates every state to have an Attorney General who is also a member of the Executive Council—a reminder that law and policy are not to walk on parallel tracks.

We, therefore, call on the Governor—who has shown admirable sensitivity to due process to complete this noble equation by appointing a qualified, competent, and courageous legal practitioner to serve as the next Attorney General of Imo State. Let the bar be lifted in the same breath the bench has been honoured.

To enthrone one arm and neglect the other is to gift the scale of justice a limp. But to empower both is to restore the full dignity of our democratic estate.

Let it not be said that Imo has a head but no tongue.

Let justice not only be seated in robes, but also be spoken in counsel”.