From The Archive: Prince Bob Njemanze’s Article In 2020 •••Furor Over Imo Chief Judge’s Appointment …As Cartel Fights NJC, Imo Govt

The bold step by the Imo State Governor, Senator Hope Uzodinma, to dismantle a cartel that has held the state judiciary in bondage for years is getting a stiff resistance.

The governor’s choice of an Acting Chief Judge of the state, has aroused the ire of the cartel. The cartel emerged, albeit by default, during the era of one of the governor’s predecessors, Chief Achike Udenwa.

The first female Judge, Justice Ifunanya Udom that ought to have occupied this same position was frustrated to death. She was in fact, the most senior on the bench at the time. Justice Ijeoma Agugua who incidentally is the Acting Chief Judge and a female is once again being frustrated by the same cartel.

The cartel has over the years determined who the Chief Judge of the state becomes. They have for the past twenty one years, thrown overboard due process and order of seniority in the appointment of the state’s Chief Judge. They exercise enormous control over the state’s Judicial Service Commission which handles the processing of appointment of Judges.

On the 13th of March, 2020, Governor Uzodinma swore in Hon. Justice Ijeoma Agugua as the Acting Chief Judge of the state, following the retirement of Justice Paschal O. Nnadi. The retiring Chief Judge was in fact a junior to Justice Agugua but “the cartel” through its machinations manoeuvred the emergence of Justice Paschal O. Nnadi as the Chief Judge.

In going for Justice Agugua, Gov. Uzodinma was principally guided by the fact that she is the most senior judge and has not been found wanting in the discharge of her duties. The governor’s move, however was surprising since many initially feared that he might be unable to summon the courage to go against the interest of these people whose origin is traceable to the former governor, Chief Achike Udenwa, who is his kinsman. With so many Judges and very senior lawyers from this particular area of the state, most of them have ended up as Senior Advocates and Attorneys-General through the work of this cartel. The decision by the governor to confront this cartel and champion equity and justice must be commended.

They have perpetually recycled the membership of the Judicial Service Commission from where they influence every activity of the bar and bench. They determine who leads the bar and bench and virtually influence and overreach almost all the decisions in the running of the affairs of the state judiciary. They decide which names should go to the NJC for the appointment of Judges; they package their kith and kin even under 6 months at the bar for appointment as Magistrates and Inspectors; this has been another form of colonization. Unfortunately when a people benefit from societal ills, they encourage, acquiesce and commend the wrongdoing.

An unsuccessful attempt was made to supersede my younger brother, Justice B.A. Njemanze (rtd) with Justice P.O. Nnadi (rtd) in 2007 but for the decision of ex-Governor Ikedi Ohakim who insisted on seniority. This same Hon. Justice Agugua was appointed to the higher bench on the same day as Hon Justice B.A. Njemanze (rtd), who she served as Administrative Judge. Her brilliance at the lower bench paved her way to the higher bench at a tender age.

This cartel/group in an effort to circumvent her appointment, posted her out of Owerri to Mbaise and replaced her with a junior Judge, who was close to his retirement. Having now cleared the coast, they started fabricating unanswered querries, manufacturing documents, creating allegations and comments that were purportedly made by the same Chief Judges that benefited from the activities of the cartel. All in the vein of an orchestrated blackmail to make it impossible for Justice Ijeoma Agugua to be appointed the Chief Judge of the state. This came to a height with the hiring of an unemployed character, Justin Amadi, who is a maternal cousin of Ndukwe Nnawuchi, SAN, (the immediate past Attorney-General of the Emeka Ihedioha interregnum). Justin Amadi was now dressed up with appellation of “Hon Justin Amadi” and the services of a Senior Advocate was engaged to file an originating summons with lots of false, frivolous and fabricated documents as a way to truncate the emergence of Hon. Justice Ijeoma Agugua as the substantive Chief Judge.

Ndukwe Nnawuchi, SAN, while attorney general for 7 months had prepared and sent a list of four (4) Judges to the exclusion of Justice Agugua to the NJC before his administration was sent packing by the Supreme Court. It is the said list that “Hon” Justin Brown Amadi is predicating his petition and suit on. When Gov. Hope Uzodinma discovered this clandestine and subterranean submission of list which was done without his knowledge or approval, he directed his Attorney-General, Barr COC Akaolisa to withdraw the list and submit the name of the most senior Judge and others to the NJC. Irked by this, a petition was raised in the name of Justin Brown Amadi making all sorts of accusations from perjury to a false claim of the date of attending primary school. My own mother, Ndukwe Nnawuchi’s mother and the mother of Eze Akujobi David Osuagwu all devolve from the same village of this said Justin Brown Amadi in Egbu, Owerri North Local Government. In addition, Eze Dr. Akujuobi David Osuagwu is the traditional ruler of Awaka in Owerri North, the community of the immediate past Chief Judge, Justice P.O Nnadi (rtd).

Eze Osuagwu had in a letter to the National Judicial Commission, dated 30th May, 2020 said, “From all I gathered from Justin Brown Amadi, he is being used by some people, (he refused to name them) but refers to them as being powerful and influential in the judiciary. He equally confessed to me that aside the people he was dealing with, he knew nothing about the judiciary”. Similarly, in a judgement delivered by Hon. Justice I.M Njaka on the 31st of March, 2020, with suit No. HOW/490/2017, Justin Brown Amadi (the Defendant) was ordered to pay “The sum of 1,000,000.00 (One Million Naira) only, as damages for the defamation of the Plaintiff’s (Mrs Ogechi Osuagwu) character contained in the letter dated 12th May, 2017 written to the Defendant”.

From all of these, one can see that Justin Brown Amadi is a man on the shelf for blackmail. I am still trying to figure out how he derived the “Hon” that he inserts before his name.

Since the appointment of Justice Ijeoma Agugua to the Acting Chief Judge position, the cartel has been busy with a deluge of their petitions, submissions and law suits. She has been accused of vindictiveness among others, as she tries to dislodge, correct and rectify the anomaly created by the activities of this cartel wherefore everyone is now aware of their seniority standing, thereby bring back the past glory of the Imo state judiciary.

It is interesting that a document titled, THE APPOINTMENT OF A SUBSTANTIVE CHIEF JUDGE OF IMO STATE: IMO STATE GOVERNMENT IN A SINISTER HASTE DESPITE A PENDING SUIT said to be authored by one Nnamdi C. Osigwe was obviously written to veil or mask the heinous crime of perversion of justice. The write-up ends with the Igbo adage, that an elder does not sit at home and allow a she-goat deliver in tethers, the guilty one is usually quick at pointing at anomalies.

Prince Bob Kay Njemanze
Friday 5th June, 2020