Court Sets May 30 Hearing For Reassigned Suits Challenging Imo Acting CJ’s Appointment & JSC Composition After Judge Transfer
The two constitutional suits filed by activist and former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Owerri Branch Secretary, Chinedu Agu, have been abruptly reassigned to a new judge and consolidated for hearing on 30th May 2025.
The first case, Suit No. HIH/8M/2025, seeks an extension of time to apply for a mandamus order compelling the Governor of Imo State to appoint the most senior judge of the High Court as Acting Chief Judge, in accordance with Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution. Originally set for hearing on 9th April 2025 at the Iho Judicial Division, the case was disrupted when Chief Registrar of Imo State High Court, N.J. Achunulor, Esq., personally retrieved the case file on 8th April 2025. The presiding judge was immediately transferred, halting proceedings.
In a strikingly similar development, Suit No. HMI/49/2025 was filed at the Mbaitoli Judicial Division, challenging the constitutionality of the Governor’s appointments to the Imo State Judicial Service Commission (JSC). The suit argues that the Governor’s appointments violate constitutional provisions by selecting three legal practitioners instead of two and one non-legal practitioner instead of two, breaching Paragraph 5, Part II of the Third Schedule to the 1999 Constitution.
Both cases, initially pending in the Iho and Nwaorieubi divisions, were surreptitiously reassigned without any formal request from either party. After tracking the case files through the court registry for two days, Agu discovered that both matters were consolidated and scheduled for the same hearing date—30th May 2025—by directive of the Acting Chief Judge.
This unexpected administrative handling has sparked concerns about the transparency of the reassignment process and has drawn criticism from local lawyers who argue that the move undermines judicial independence. They also questioned why hearing dates were set without consultation with Agu, the plaintiff in both cases.
Agu has since alerted the NBA Owerri Branch Chairman about the developments and is preparing to file a formal petition with the National Judicial Council (NJC) for an investigation into what he calls “apparent executive interference” in judicial matters.
