The National Judicial Council declared Governor Hope Uzodinma’s appointment of Justice Theophilus Nnamdi Nzeukwu as the Acting Chief Judge of Imo State null and void, and ordered the governor to promptly rescind the appointment.
The NJC, at its 108th meeting which concluded in Abuja on April 30, further directed Uzodinma to appoint the most senior judge in the state’s High Court hierarchy as the Acting Chief Judge, in line with Section 271(4) of the Constitution.
According to a statement issued late on Wednesday by NJC spokesperson, Mrs. Kemi Babalola, the Council held that the constitutional guidelines for appointing an acting Chief Judge of a state allow no room for discretion.
The NJC resolved that Justice Nzeukwu should be issued a query, requiring him to show cause within seven days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for allowing himself to be sworn in as Acting Chief Judge of Imo State.
The Council also resolved that Justice V. U. Okorie, President of the Imo State Customary Court of Appeal, who acted as Interim Chairman of the Imo State Judicial Service Commission and recommended Justice Nzeukwu’s appointment, should similarly show cause within seven days why disciplinary action should not be taken against him for his role in the matter.
Persecondnews recalls that Uzodimma swore in Nzeukwu as the Acting Chief Judge on April 2, five months after the state had been without a substantive Chief Judge.
The vacancy arose after the NJC recommended the immediate retirement of former Chief Judge Chukwuemeka Chikeka over allegation of age falsification.
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