Court gavel
Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has struck out a suit filed by legal practitioner Victor Nwadike, challenging Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma over his alleged refusal to appoint the most senior High Court judge as the state’s Chief Judge.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Mohammed Umar ruled on Tuesday that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case, primarily due to the improper inclusion of the National Judicial Council (NJC) as a respondent.
“Joining the 3rd respondent (NJC) herein is not enough. The applicant must show in his affidavit or reliefs claims against the 3rd respondent, else this court will decline jurisdiction,” Justice Umar stated.
He emphasized that none of the claims in Nwadike’s affidavit or reliefs were directed at the NJC. “On the whole, this court declines jurisdiction to entertain this suit and it is hereby struck out,” he ruled, referencing a Supreme Court precedent to support his decision.
The case, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1303/2025, had the Imo State Governor, the Attorney General of Imo, and the NJC listed as 1st to 3rd defendants respectively. The suit was filed on July 2.
Nwadike sought a court order for leave to pursue a mandamus compelling the governor to immediately appoint the most senior judge of the state’s High Court as acting Chief Judge, in line with Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In his affidavit, Nwadike claimed that the NJC had, on April 30, directed Governor Uzodinma to follow constitutional procedure by swearing in the most senior judicial officer. He noted that the NJC reiterated this directive on June 26, yet the governor allegedly remained in defiance.
“I have filed this action to compel the 1st defendant to appoint the most senior judge of the High Court of Imo State to perform the functions of the Chief Judge of Imo State, in adherence to Section 271 (4) of the Constitution,” Nwadike stated.
During earlier proceedings on July 16, Justice Umar had instructed the applicant to justify why the court should hear the matter despite jurisdictional concerns. In response, Nwadike requested on September 22 that, should the court find itself lacking jurisdiction, the case be transferred to a suitable court in Imo State.
Delivering his final ruling, Justice Umar made it clear that the NJC had already “discharged its responsibility” in the matter, and thus had no further role to play.
“A careful perusal of the affidavit in support of the motion ex-parte before this court, specifically Paragraphs 9 and 10, shows that the 3rd respondent has already discharged its own mandate,” the judge said. “The 3rd respondent’s name was included just to confer jurisdiction on this court.”
With that, the case was dismissed.
NAN
