The Imo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Paul Obinatu, has questioned the constitutional authority of the National Judicial Council to dictate the candidate the state should nominate for appointment as its substantive Chief Judge.
Obinatu insisted that the Imo State Judicial Service Commission has an independent constitutional responsibility to assess and submit suitable candidates, saying the NJC cannot “dictate, control or substitute its preferred candidate” for the commission’s choice.
He stated this in a statement issued on Friday, made available to PUNCH Online, following a directive issued by the NJC to the Imo State Judicial Service Commission at its 112th meeting held on November 3.
The directive concerned the process of appointing a substantive Chief Judge for Imo State, prompting the Attorney-General to clarify the constitutional responsibilities of both institutions.
Obinatu argued that although the NJC has the constitutional responsibility to recommend a candidate to the governor, it does not have the additional power to determine the individual whose name the State Commission should submit for consideration.
“The NJC’s constitutional responsibility to recommend a candidate to the governor does not confer on it the additional power to determine or dictate the candidate the State Judicial Service Commission must submit to it,” he said.
Citing Section 202 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, the Attorney-General said the State Judicial Service Commission was constitutionally protected from external interference in the exercise of its functions.
He said, “The State Judicial Service Commission shall not be subject to the direction or control of any other authority or person in exercising its constitutionally assigned powers.
“This provision establishes a clear constitutional safeguard against external interference in the commission’s responsibilities and cannot be overridden by the NJC through administrative directives or procedural guidelines.”
Obinatu added that the NJC could not rely on its national institutional status to exercise control over the state commission.
“The NJC cannot invoke its national institutional status or its recommendation powers to exercise control over the Imo State JSC in a manner inconsistent with the Constitution,” he said.
The Attorney-General also referenced Section 271(1) and relevant provisions of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, which outline the respective roles of the State Judicial Service Commission, NJC and governor in appointing a substantive Chief Judge.
He explained that Paragraph 6(a) of Part II of the Third Schedule empowers the State Judicial Service Commission to advise the NJC on suitable persons for nomination as Chief Judge, while Paragraph 21(c) of Part I empowers the NJC to recommend a candidate to the governor from among the persons submitted by the State Commission.
Section 271(1), he noted, provides that the appointment is made by the governor on the recommendation of the NJC, subject to confirmation by the State House of Assembly.
