Chinedu Agu, a Solicitor and Notary Public and former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Owerri, has raised alarm over what he described as the deliberate incapacitation of the judiciary in Imo State, warning that the closure of courts during the court vacation has created a vacuum where lawlessness thrives.
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Speaking on the state of justice in Imo, Agu said, “When justice is forced on vacation, silenced by deliberate state action, what you get is not just absence of law, but the reign of lawlessness and terror. This is the reality in Imo State today; a chilling reminder that when power is unchecked and courts are closed, the people become prey.”
He contrasted the situation in Imo with other Nigerian states, noting that in Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi, and Anambra, vacation courts are established to handle urgent and time-sensitive matters, ensuring that justice continues even when judges are away. “But in Imo State, the story is different, as it is tragic. The courts are closed, and justice has been kidnapped, not by bandits in the bush, but by bandits in government,” Agu said.
Agu attributed the legal paralysis to administrative sabotage, highlighting that the Governor of Imo State, despite appointing a Chief Judge three months after the directive of the National Judicial Council (NJC), has yet to swear the appointee into office. “Because only a Chief Judge has the power to appoint vacation judges, the refusal to swear one in effectively shuts the gates of justice for the entire period of the vacation,” he explained.
He warned of the devastating consequences of this vacuum, noting that victims of unlawful arrests, illegal detentions, and human rights abuses are left without recourse. He particularly criticized the Tigerbase Unit of the police, which he said has assumed unchecked authority in the absence of judicial oversight.
Agu recounted a recent case on August 27, 2025, involving a Nigerian citizen living in the United States whose duplex in Owerri was marked for demolition with just 48 hours’ notice. “For the first time in my professional life, I had no legal path to offer. The courts were on vacation, and no vacation court had been set up. Our hands were tied. The law was asleep. Justice was on forced sabbatical,” he said.
He decried the state government’s use of the court vacation as a loophole to carry out arbitrary actions. “The government appears to have found a wicked loophole: if the courts are closed, we can do as we please. Demolish homes. Chase families into the streets. Detain at will. And who will stop us? No judge! No court! No voice!” Agu said.
Agu warned that the deliberate paralysis of the judiciary is creating an environment for corruption, extortion, arbitrary arrests, and human rights abuses. He said, “No society grows when its people live in fear. No economy thrives where property rights can be trampled at night. No democracy survives where citizens are denied a voice in court.”
He called on lawyers, civil society, religious leaders, the Nigerian Bar Association, the media, and all lovers of justice to speak out. “Imo State is bleeding, not just from political instability or economic uncertainty, but from the deliberate burial of its justice system. This is not vacation. This is state-orchestrated injustice. And we must name it, shame it, and stop it,” Agu concluded.
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