Enugu Lawmakers Stall Appointment Of New Chief Judge
By Felix Abugu
A major constitutional crisis is brewing in Enugu State where the state House of Assembly has refused to confirm the appointment of a new Chief Judge whose selection was recently approved by the National Judicial Council, (NJC), the apex authority on the appointment of judicial officers in the country.
Early in September, a panel of the Enugu State Judicial Service Commission (EJSC) made up of Justice Ugwu, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice and two other members took the unprecedented step of 'voting' to select one of two candidates for recommendation to the NJC for approval.
But the NJC rule stipulates that if a judge has not been found guilty of any professional misconduct, he or should not, merely for political reasons, be denied elevation to the next rank as and when due.
The Guardian had exclusively reported on Saturday, September 18 that an EJSC panel under the chairmanship of the state attorney general and commissioner for justice had, through a "democratic process" voted for Justice Innocent Umezulike as replacement for Justice Ugwu, instead of simply forwarding to the NJC for approval, the name of Justice Raphael Agbo, who is second to the retiring Chief Judge of the state in the Enugu judicial hierarchy and Umezulike's senior in the Bar by three years.
The ESJC's decision was, however, quashed by the NJC which, it was learnt, reprimanded the Enugu judicial authorities for "their unbecoming condoning of the travesty of the selection process for judicial officers". It asked the state government to appoint Justice Agbo as the next Chief Judge of Enugu.
Apparently in compliance, the state governor Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani forwarded Justice Agbo's name to the House of Assembly for confirmation. But in what appears to be political muscle-flexing, the House, perhaps at the surreptitious prodding of the executive, declined to confirm Justice Agbo's appointment.
The development, experts say, may have set the Enugu State Government on a collision course with the NJC over a matter that is purely judicial and which the constitution recognises the power of the NJC to superintend.
The House faulted the National Judicial council for recommending Justice R.C.Agbo against Justice I.A. Umezulike who had earlier on been recommended by the State Judicial Council on the grounds, among others, that Justice Umezulike was called to the bar before Justice Agbo.
But in a statement released at the weekend and signed by its national president, a non-governmental organisation based in Lagos, Lawyers Alert noted, among others:
- That Justice R.C. Agbo was called to the bar in 1978 while Justice I.A. Umezulike was called in 1981. This means that Justice R.C.Agbo is three clear years senior to Justice I.A. Umezulike at the bar.
- Seniority at the Bar and Bench is of fundamental implication to the profession. It is designed to ensure order in the conduct of lawyers and judges and to shut out anarchy in the justice system. It is for this reason that the Lagos State Government had since adopted a smooth approach to the process of selection of Chief Judges. Its policy guarantees that irrespective of the physical age of judges, the most senior at the Bench is guaranteed his or her place as the Chief Judge even if he or she has a few months before retirement. The only exception is where such a person is incompetent or corrupt. This has effectively checked the antics of restless Judges who might aspire to the C.J position through social climbing or political gerrymandering
- That the National Judicial Council has a constitutional role to ensure that politicians do not hijack the judiciary, thereby paving the way for anarchy and break down of the corporate order of the country. This indeed is guaranteed in the event that the NJC is not alive to its responsibilities.
- That the Enugu State House of Assembly should avail itself of relevant facts relating to the mode of operation of the judiciary in order not to plunge the country into serious constitutional crisis
