Sir: By a memo dated June 6, 2026, the Imo State Judicial Service Commission (JSC) shortlisted four candidates for appointment to the office of the Chief Judge of Imo State. They also called for comments from members of the public,  including the Nigerian Bar Association in Imo State.

At the end of their deliberations, which should have included reviews of all the comments they have received from stakeholders, they thereafter  shortlisted two candidates as suitable for further considerations.

The suitable candidates are Honourable Justice C. A Ononeze Madu and Honourable Justice  E. O Agada. It is  about these two suitably found candidates that some comments have been made. Some of the comments, which came as an  interview and written personal opinions were by Prince Bob Njemanze, my friend and brother, Prof Chidi Anslem Odinkalu and Chinedu Agu.

I have taken time to read  all of them very carefully. Having read them carefully,  one idea runs through them all, to wit: their personal  prefence for and defence of Honourable Justice I O Agugua, the Acting Chief Judge of Imo state as their preferred candidate for the office of the exalted office ot the Chief Judge of Imo state.

As much as  we all are entitled to our own preferences,   it would be clearly wrong and unacceptable to engage in writings and public posturings that would want to elevate our personal idiosyncrasies above the law and constitution of the land. In as much as we are entitled to them, the constitution as amended, the general good and future of our collectives must be the first consideration. With this at the back of my mind,   I will proceed to review these opinions using Chinedu Agu’s  opinion titled: Imo Chief Judge shortlist:Suitability or burial of judicial independence? The choice of Chinedu Agu’s opinion is because it contained almost all the issues raised by both Prince Bob Njemanze and Prof Chidi Anslem Odinkalu.This opinion was published in thenicheng.com
.I will proceed on the opinion seriatim, quoting him where necessary.

‘Initially, in its communication to the Nigerian Bar Association, Owerri, the JSC invited comments on the suitability of four eminent Judicial officers, namely: Honourable Justice I O Agugua, the Acting Chief Judge, Honourable Justice C. A Ononeze- Madu, Honourable Justice  E O Agada and Honourable Justice L C Azuama. This was in their Order of seniority. After the commentaries from the NBA Owerri and other branches of the NBA in Imo State, the commission now presents only two names: Honourable Justice C A Ononeze-Madu and Honourable E O Agada for comments of the members of the public’.

The inescapable meaning of this opinion of Chinedu Agu is that clearly Imo state JSC, in the excersice of their constitutional duties called for the opinions and commentaries of the stakeholders,   which included the relevant branches of the NBA. Not only did the JSC call for these opinions, they also took them in consideration before arriving at their decision of shortlisting the two candidates. It follows, by Chinedu Agu’s admission that JSC’s decision followed due process.

Furthermore, he admitted that the appointment of the substantive CJ of  Imo state is constitutional as it is governed by paragraph 6, Part II(C) of  the third Schedule constitution of Nigeria (as amended) which provides: The JSC shall have power to advice the National Judicial Council on suitable persons for nomination to office of the Chief Judge of the state.

It is important to say, just as the author under refrence noted, that whereas appointment to the office of the Acting Chief Judge of a state is guided by seniority as provided by the constitution,  that of a substantive chief Judge is not. It is guided by suitability.
The million question becomes: why suitability?

The answer is as provided by Chinedu Agu himself. He wrote, citing JSC’s guidelines that “it is not enough that a candidate is  preferred.  It must be shown that the candidate is right for the office. It is not enough that the candidate is convenient.  It must be shown that the candidate is appropriate for the burdens of judicial leadership”.  He further cited the NJC guidelines and procedural rules for the  appointment of judicial officers of all superior courts of records in Nigeria which provides: “…the commission should not include in the provisional shortlist any person whose reputation in the locality is low or has been tarnished, or any judicial officer whose performance has been consistently rated low or unsatisfactory in judicial performance evaluation reports,.. ..the commission should have before it the  completed NJC FORM A, comments received from relevant persons and bodies, any petitions and protests and the candidate’s responses thereto,…and a DSS report on the suitability of the candidate supported by variable facts.”

Locality, here should certainly include the NBA, both in and outside of Owerri and Imo State, the “many  lawyers you know”, the litigants who constitute the courtroom and many other stakeholders.

Haven shown that these are NJC requirements,  I scanned through  Chinedu Agu’s article to see where he showed the fulfilment of these requirements of the guidelines of both JSC and NJC to no avail.

In the present reality of this writer not having access to any of the service records of Honourable Justice I. O. Agugua,  it will be safe to say that he spoke without seeing and reading these records or he did, but deliberately chose to act as if they do not  matter.

My question for Chinedu Agu becomes compelling.  If Honourable Justice I. O. Agugua is not your favorite Judge, why are you forcing her down the throat of the JSC,  the NJC, the appointing  Governor and indeed the litigating public under the thin argument of seniority? This is particularly so when, by your admission, that seniority is not listed in paragraph 6, part ll as a requirement.

I ask this writer again, have you seen a copy of the records of Honourable Justice I O Agugua in the NJC or the JSC for  you to be  certain that she falls within the categorisation you listed?

Have you seen the opinion of previous Chief Judges of Imo state on her, including some Chief Justice of Nigeria.

I challenge you to seek out these records before progressing with your grandstandings.

By way of a conclusion, permit me to say that while comments on suitabilities of candidates for appointments are very important, such comments must be knowledge based. It should also be based on respect for constitutional inviolability and respect for time tested guidelines. Pushing narratives of self interests masquerading as public interest interventions is not in any way helpful.

• Chris Ehumadu Okeke is a Senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN).