{
  "id": 18564765,
  "title": "NJC can’t dictate Imo chief judge nominee — AG",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/njc-cant-dictate-imo-chief-judge-nominee-ag-18564765",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-06T20:56:51.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch",
    "slug": "punch",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/njc-cant-dictate-imo-chief-judge-nominee-ag/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The Attorney-General of Imo State, Paul Obinatu, has challenged the National Judicial Council's (NJC) claim of authority to dictate the candidate the state should nominate for the substantive Chief Judge position. Obinatu emphasized that the Imo State Judicial Service Commission possesses an independent constitutional responsibility to evaluate and submit suitable candidates for the role, asserting that the NJC cannot \"dictate, control or substitute its preferred candidate\" for the commission's choice. This dispute arose following a directive from the NJC to the Imo State Judicial Service Commission at its 112th meeting.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}