A Owerri based legal practitioner, Bar Ephraim Okafor has taken a swipe at the Hope Uzodinma administration in Imo State for the absence of a Vacation Court, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and a substantive Chief Judge as stipulated in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Okafor who stated this in a statement he issued recently said, “A few weeks ago, the headlines danced with the news that Governor Hope Uzodinma had finally obeyed the National Judicial Council’s directive to appoint the most senior judge as Acting Chief Judge of Imo State. But the applause was premature. It was not a victory for the rule of law — it was a reluctant bow to pressure”.

According to him, Section 271(4) stipulates that when the office of Chief Judge is vacant, the Governor shall, on NJC recommendation, appoint the most senior judge to act. Section 195 demands that every State must have an Attorney‑General as its Chief Law Officer. These are not political favours — they are binding duties.

In Elelu‑Habeeb v. AG Federation (2012) 13 NWLR (Pt. 1318) 423, the Supreme Court condemned any executive interference with judicial leadership. In Governor of Ekiti State v. Fakiyesi (2009) 1 NWLR (Pt. 1124) 409, the Court of Appeal warned that refusal to perform constitutional duties “invites anarchy through the backdoor.”

But unfortunately the government of Imo state does not in any way recognize or attach importance to any of these constitutional provisions that are sacrosanct.

He expressed dismay that in Imo State, cases that need urgent attention now perish in silence because there is no functioning vacation court, “the judiciary is headless in spirit; the Attorney‑General’s chair remains cold and empty. This is not governance. This is executive impunity in its loudest form.

Governor Uzodinma must remember: the Constitution is not a decorative robe to be worn when it suits him — it is the binding oath he swore before God and man. Until the judiciary is restored to full strength and the doors of justice are open in every season, Imo State will remain a sad emblem of lawlessness in Nigeria.

For when the law sleeps, tyranny keeps watch. And in Imo State today, tyranny is wide awake”.