Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has criticised the Attorney-General of Imo State and Commissioner for Justice, Paul Obinatu, Esq., over a letter informing the Eastern Bar Forum that the office of the Chief Judge of Imo State is presently vacant.
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Reacting to the letter, Odinkalu described the Attorney-General as “unfit for office,” saying he ought to have known that it was not his place to issue such a communication.
“The current Attorney-General of Imo State is unfit for office. If he were, he would have known that it is not his place to inflict this kind of embarrassment on himself,” Odinkalu said.
The controversy followed a letter dated July 8, 2026, written by Obinatu to the Governor of the Eastern Bar Forum of the Nigerian Bar Association, Damian O. Nosike & Co., Chidindu Chambers, Owerri.
The letter was in response to an invitation extended to the former Acting Chief Judge and other judges of Imo State for the Eastern Bar Forum’s second quarterly meeting scheduled to hold in Owerri from July 9 to 11, 2026.
In the letter, the Attorney-General acknowledged the invitation but stated that the tenure of the immediate past Acting Chief Judge of Imo State, Hon. Justice I.O. Agugua, elapsed on June 26, 2026.
Obinatu said that since the expiration of her tenure as Acting Chief Judge, he had not been informed that her tenure had been extended or that a new Acting Chief Judge had been appointed by Governor Hope Uzodimma.
According to him, the development means that there is presently no substantive or acting Chief Judge of Imo State to receive the Forum’s invitation, host the proposed cocktail or attend the opening ceremony on behalf of the state judiciary.
“In view of the foregoing therefore, it becomes glaringly apparent without more to state that the office of the Chief Judge of Imo State is presently vacant,” the letter read.
“There is therefore no substantive or acting Chief Judge to receive your invitation and/or host your proposed cocktail or attend the opening ceremony on behalf of the Imo State Judiciary.”
The Attorney-General consequently demanded that the invitation extended to the former Acting Chief Judge be withdrawn immediately, saying it was believed to have been issued in error.
“It is however demanded that the invitation extended to the former acting Chief Judge be withdrawn forthwith as we honestly believed it was done in error,” he stated.
Obinatu added that any inconvenience caused by the development was regretted, while expressing the belief that the vacuum created by the expiration of the Acting Chief Judge’s tenure would be filled soon in accordance with due process of law.
“We believe that the vacuum created by the expiration of office may be filled in no distant time in compliance with the due process of law,” the letter added.
The letter was copied to NBA Owerri Branch, NBA Orlu Branch, NBA Okigwe Branch, NBA Mbano/Etiti Branch, NBA Mbaise Branch and NBA Oru/Oguta Branch.
Odinkalu’s reaction has now added a fresh dimension to the controversy surrounding the leadership of the Imo State Judiciary, especially the status of the office of Chief Judge following the expiration of the former Acting Chief Judge’s tenure.
The development comes amid earlier concerns over the process for appointing a substantive Chief Judge for Imo State, with critics alleging that judicial seniority and due process must be respected.
With the Attorney-General’s letter and Odinkalu’s sharp reaction, attention is now focused on the Imo State Government and whether steps will be taken to fill the alleged vacuum in the leadership of the state judiciary.
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