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Friday, October 15th, 2004 HOME | Previous Page NJC, Enugu govt disagree over appointment of CJ By Chukwudi Achife Bureau Chief, Enugu   All may not be well between Enugu State government and the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the government’s plan to appoint a new chief judge. The contest for the top job is between two brilliant and widely acclaimed jurists, Justices Raphael Agbo and Innocent Umezurike. Both men have equal following among their colleagues and the workers and are both credited with professional competence and high intellectual endowment. The apex judiciary regulatory body was reported to have recently voted 26-0 in favour of Justice Agbo to overturn a 3-1 verdict returned by the state Judicial Service Commission (JSC) for his opponent. The government and the outgoing chief judge is said to favour Umezurike to assume the top judiciary seat when the latter vacates the office in December. Sources hinted that Governor Chimaroke Nnamani might not be disposed to swearing in Agbo as the next chief judge - a situation that has sets the stage for a confrontation between it and the NJC. Initially, the issue between the two judges was that of seniority, which is fundamental in legal circles. Both of them were sworn in on the same day but going by legal tradition, Agbo who was sworn in first, ought to have been acknowledged as the senior. Umezurike reportedly argued that he is Agbo’s senior by virtue of having come to the bench from the federal ministry of justice. He refers to the legal tradition whereby lawyers or judges appointed from the ministry of justice take precedence over their colleagues from the private practice. Umezurike’s critics are however quick to point out that he was never a state attorney but only served as special assistant to former attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice - a political position that did not confer on him the privileged status of a member of the official bar. Copyright� 2004. All Rights Reserved. Independent Newspapers Limited Block5, Plot 7D, Wempco Road, Ogba, P.M.B. 21777, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria. www.independentng.com e-mail: [email protected] Designed By Powered By DNet.

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