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  • Attack on Buhari , VP treasonable, says Falana

    ACTIVIST-LAWYER Femi Falana (SAN) has said that the stoning of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo by supporters of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) during the campaign rally of the All Peoples Congress (APC) in Abeokuta was treasonable.

    Reacting to the incident yesterday, Falana expressed regret that the Police have not arrested anybody in connection with the attack on the President, his vice and other leaders of the APC.

    The senior advocate said that Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun cannot absolve himself of the blame as the chief security officer of the state.

    He said the governor was preparing the stage for confusion when Amosun visited Abuja before last Monday’s campaign with the governorship candidate of the APM, Adekunle Akinlade.

    He said the President erred by welcoming them and posing with them to be photographed.

    “The governor ought to have been told long before the campaign that his activities were anti-party,” Falana said.

    The lawyer also blamed the various security agencies in the state for the incident, noting that they did nothing to prevent or stop the attack on the President.

    He said the security agencies, despite knowing that the rally was APC’s, allowed another party and its supporters to infiltrate the venue.

    Falana contended that the ugly situation persisted because Police and other security agencies, who shied away from their responsibilities.

    He recalled a 2007 situation, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly canvassed support for Dr. Olusegun Agagu against Dr. Segun Mimiko in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    Falana recounted how supporters of former Oyo State governors, Rasheed Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala clashed and six people died with the police doing nothing to arrest and prosecute anybody over the incident.

    Falana lamented the spate of disrespect and other acts against the person of the President by the opposition, describing it as an insult against the Exalted Office.

    He recalled that during the presentation of the 2019 Budget, when the President was booed by some members of the National Assembly, the only thing he said was that ‘the world is watching’, noting, “here in Abeokuta, he kept quiet and allowed the situation to degenerated”.

    He said when the President was attending an APC rally, Imo State and Governor Rochas Okorocha was campaigning for Action Alliance (AA) governorship candidate, nobody was cautioned.

    Also, when in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi, was booed at the APC rally in the presence of the President, nothing happened.

    He described such developments as security breaches.

  • Attack on Buhari, Osinbajo treasonable, says Falana

    Lawyer and activist, Femi Falana (SAN) has said that the stoning of President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo by supporters of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) during last Monday’s campaign of the All Peoples Congress (APC) in Abeokuta was treasonable.

    Reacting to the ugly incident Wednesday, Falana expressed regret that the Police has not arrested anybody in connection with the attack on the President, his Vice and other leaders of the APC.

    He said Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State cannot absolve himself of the blame as the chief security officer of the state.

    He regretted that governor Amosun visited Abuja several times before last Monday’s campaign with the governorship candidate of the APM, Adekunle Akinlade, the President welcomed them to the villa.

    He said the governor ought to have been told long before the campaign that his activities were anti-party.

    The lawyer also blamed the various security agencies in the state for the incident noting that they did nothing to prevent or stop the attack on the President.

    He said the security agencies, despite knowing that it was APC rally allowed another party and its supporters to infiltrate the venue.

    Read Also: 2019: Police will be professional, unbiased – IG

    Falana contended that this ugly situation persisted because Police and other security agencies that should be alive to their responsibilities did nothing about it.

    He recalled that in 2007, when former President Olusegun Obasanjo openly canvassed support for Dr Olusegun Agagu against Dr Segun Mimiko.

    He also recalled that some time ago, supporters of former Oyo state governor, Chief Rasheed Ladoja and Alao Akala clashed and six people died, the Police did not arrest nor prosecute anybody over the incident.

    Falana lamented the spate of disrespect and other acts against the person of the President of the country by the opposition, describing it as an insult against his office.

    He recalled that during presentation of the 2019 budget, when the president was booed by some members of the National Assembly, the only thing he said was that ‘the world is watching’, noting, “here in Abeokuta, he kept quiet and allowed the situation to degenerated”.

    He said when the President was attending rally of the APC, similar incident happened in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and Imo State in particular where the state governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha was campaigning for Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) gubernatorial candidate, nobody was cautioned.

  • Falana advises CCT Chairman to respond to query by Judicial Commission

    LAGOS lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has advised the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman, Justice Dankadi Umar, to respond to the query issued and served on him by the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).

    “If he fails to reply the query, the Federal Judicial Service Commission may wish to recommend his removal from office to the National Judicial Council pursuant to paragraph 13 (a) of Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution 1999, which will in turn make appropriate recommendations to the President,” Falana said.

    The senior lawyer, in a statement issued in Lagos yesterday, noted that while dismissing the allegation of judicial misconduct arising from the circumstances surrounding the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, the CCT Chairman queried the power of the Federal Judicial Service Commission to query him.

    “According to him, the Code of Conduct Tribunal is under the Presidency and as such the chairman and the two other members of the tribunal only report to the President of the Republic. To justify his queer position, Justice Umar said a former Chief Justice had warned the members of the tribunal to stop calling themselves judges,” Falana said.

    He contended that the “CCT is not under the Presidency”.

    Falana stated the Federal Judicial Commission was perfectly in order when it queried the CCT Chairman with respect to the allegation of judicial misconduct levelled against him.

    He stated that unlike ministers and staff in the Presidency, who can be removed by the President, the CCT Chairman and the tribunal members cannot be removed from office by the President, except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each of the House of the National Assembly on grounds of misconduct or for contravention of the code of conduct for public officers.

    He said the retirement age of Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal is 70 years like Justices of the appellate courts, adding that they cannot be removed from office before attaining the prescribed retirement age’

    He explained that the power of the Federal Judicial Service Commission to recommend to the National Judicial Council the removal of the Chairman and members of the CCT cannot be exercised without conducting an inquiry into the allegation of judicial misconduct involving federal judicial officers.

    The statement stated in part: “With respect, the chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal are recognised as judicial officers by the Constitution. For the avoidance of doubt, the Tribunal Chairman shall “be a person who has held or is qualified to hold office as a Judge of a superior court of record in Nigeria …”

  • Falana to workers: fight governors who resist N30,000 minimum wage

    Human rights activist Femi Falana (SAN)  has called on the organised labour to “fight” any governor who is unwilling to pay the N30,000 minimum wage.

    Speaking at the 12th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja, Falana said the first part of the new minimum wage battle had been won; the second is to compel state governments to pay.

    “Labour should unite to fight any governor who may not want to pay the N30,000 minimum wage. States should cut their expenses and engage in income generating ventures.

    “As for the workers,  let the general elections be the last time that it will be left for our leaders to decide. Workers should come together. They should be the one to decide,” Falana said.

    The NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, reiterated the urgency for the need to pass the minimum wage bill by the National Assembly.

    “For millions of workers, an increase in the minimum wage is urgently needed to ensure a living wage that covers the cost of basic needs for a family.

    “Workers must be able to freely bargain collectively through their union for wages that reflect the tone value of the work they do and for decent working conditions.

    “On January 29, this year, the House of Representatives passed into law a new national minimum wage of N30,000. It is expected that upon the passage by the Senate, a conference of the two chambers of the National Assembly will harmonise the bill and send the National Minimum Wage (Amendment) Act to Mr. President for signing into law.

    “We appreciate and commend the House of Representative for the expedited action taken on the new national minimum wage bill,” he said.

    Wabba commended the Federal Government for releasing about N1.9 trillion to states for bailout, budget support and Paris club refund.

    He said: “The release of about N1.9 trillion in the form of bailout, budget support and Paris Club Refund assisted greatly in addressing the non-payment of salary, pensions and gratuity in many states especially worker-friendly governors. In some few instances, the funds were diverted and the situation has not been fully addressed.”

    Wabba said the economy given its vast potential, amid diverse challenges, showed some promises in recent times.

    “According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 1.81 per cent in real terms in the third quarter of 2018.

    “This is slightly better than the growth of 1.17 per cent achieved in the third quarter of 2017. The recent GDP growth and increase in internally generated revenue are signs of the steady recovery of our economy from recession. Despite these results, our economy remains largely import driven and dependent. The growth in the size of our economy – the biggest in Africa – is still non-inclusive as the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. Though described as mixed, our economy is essentially rent-seeking and still suffers from systemic distortions,’’  he said.

  • For the records: from the NADL, a statement of great clarity and patriotism that every Nigerian must read

    From the moment that I read it, I felt, instantly, that the Statement published below as an excerpt from a slightly longer piece must be read by all Nigerians. Not only that, I felt that it is also a Statement for the historical records. I know of no other Statement or Declaration in recent times from members of the Nigerian legal profession – the Bar and the Bench – to match the insight, the candor and the courage with which this Statement addresses the crises of monumental corruption and great public distrust and contempt afflicting our judiciary. The Statement deals primarily with the crisis of confidence that has erupted over the suspension of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, W.S.N. Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari; but it goes far beyond this to engage longstanding issues concerning the collusion of lawyers, magistrates and judges in subverting the dispensation of justice and the rule of the law itself in our country. In this regard, it should be noted that the Statemen deals with only the judicial aspects of the Onnoghen suspension; it substantially leaves out the bitterly divisive, reactionary and nation-wrecking politics of ethnic and regional brinksmanship that caused and also fuels the crisis that erupted from Onnoghen’s suspension, a crisis in which all sides are tainted with rank opportunism, cynicism, lies, deceit and bad faith. Close to its conclusion, the Statement makes the following declaration: “As bad as allegations of misconduct and corrupt practices in the Judiciary are, Nigerians must realize that sleaze is not the defining characteristic of the Nigerian Judiciary. Corruption in the Judiciary is not the norm. It is an exception. The Judiciary in Nigeria is doubtlessly an institution of integrity and decency”. Alas, I do not think that most Nigerians would agree with this view of our judiciary. All the same, let us hope that more like-minded members of the Nigerian judiciary like the NADL will rise to the enormous challenge of rescuing their profession from the infamy and the odium that pervade its public profile]

    The National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) hereby issues this Statement in reaction to the ongoing crisis of confidence rocking the Nigerian Judiciary, arising from the filing of charges bordering on violations of the provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, against the Chief Justice of Nigeria ( CJN), Hon. Justice W.S.N Onnoghen, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal; his  suspension from office, and  appointment of Hon. Justice I.T Muhammed as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari; and the investigation of both the suspended CJN, and Acting CJN by the National Judicial Council ( NJC), for acts of misconducts.

    1. The NADL condemns the suspension of CJN Onnoghen from office, and his replacement, as aforesaid by the President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. Under Section 292 of the Constitution, judicial officers, including the suspended CJN, have security of tenure, which guarantees that they can only be removed or suspended from office in accordance with the dictates of the Constitution. The NADL, therefore, calls for the rescission of the decision of the President, suspending CJN Onnoghen, and replacing him with an acting CJN.
    2. The NADL also expresses serious reservation about the hasty disposition of Hon. Justice I T. Muhammed, Acting CJN in accepting to be appointed and sworn in as Acting CJN, when judges of the lower bench who in the past had demonstrated that grave error of judgment or seeming unbridled ambition had, in the past, been visited with career terminal sanctions by the NJC.
    3. The NADL blames the suspended CJN Onnoghen for frustrating the holding of the 88thStatutory Meeting of the NJC on the 15th January 2019, a day after 14th January, 2019, when the CJN Onnoghen was scheduled to be arraigned in Court, by an inexplicable indefinite postponement. By that heedless postponement, the NJC was denied of the earliest opportunity it could have had to discuss the CJN’s code of conduct challenges, and charges that were filed against him. If that meeting had held, perhaps, the NJC, based on the I.N. Okoro, J.S.C   and N.S, Ngwuta, J.S.C precedents, could have placed Hon. Justice W.S.N Onnoghen, on suspension, for undergoing a quasi-criminal trial, like an interdiction in the public service. NADL assumes that the said postponement must have goaded a restive Executive Branch of Government into reaching for the misguided suspension of the CJN on Friday, the 25th of January 2019.
    4. Following the realization that there was fire on the mountain of the Nigerian Judiciary, the NJC, which was prevented from having a meeting on the 15thJanuary 2019, had to meet on Tuesday, 29th January, 2019, by requisition. The meeting, from which suspended CJN W.S.N Onnoghen and Acting CJN I T Muhammed recused themselves, and which was chaired by Rtd. Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, PCA, decided, amongst other resolutions, to query both CJN W.S.N Onnoghen and Acting CJN I T Muhammed regarding the petitions submitted against them; one petition against the CJN regarding the code of conduct infractions, and two against the Acting CJN regarding his presenting himself for appointment and swearing in by the President, upon the suspension of the CJN by the President. Both of them were given seven (7) days [an abridgment of time from the regular fourteen (14) days query answering period] to answer the queries, to enable the NJC determine the matters on the 11th February 2019.
    5. While the NADL commends the NJC for eventually taking charge of the damaging allegations against the suspended CJN, the NADL has serious reservations about the patent lack of exhibition of urgency by the NJC in the consideration and resolution of the crisis. The Judiciary in Nigeria today is in a state of emergency. The NJC and its members would not have sacrificed too much for Nigeria and the Judiciary, if it had elongated its sitting, accelerated its proceedings and conducted an expedited hearing and fast track determination of the petitions. The petitions could have been reacted to in one day, the focal issues being whether the suspended CJN fully and faithfully declared his assets, and if not why; and whether the Acting CJN offered himself for appointment, and if so why? . Thus, a verdict in the form of recommendations to the Executive Branch of Government (the President) could have been rendered in three (3) days. By extending the petitions resolution period, the NJC, wittingly or unwittingly, is elongating the nightmare of the legal profession community in Nigeria and the people of Nigeria. The adjournment of the NJC Meeting to 11thFebruary 2019, four (4) days to the conduct of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections will further generate an avoidable state of paralysis, uncertainty and acrimony in the Judiciary, in the legal profession and in the polity.
    6. The NADL condemns the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association for its handling of the CJN Onnoghen charge and suspension issue. In its statements, pronouncements and resolutions, the NBA Leadership has restricted itself to flaying the action of the Executive Branch of Government, mouthing hackneyed phrases about rule of law, due process, independence of the judiciary, separation of powers and adherence to constitutional principles, without paying equal attention to ethical demands in a legal profession that prides itself as honourable, and giving necessary attention to the issue of integrity and credibility in the Judiciary and how to effectively combat cases of corrupt practices in the legal profession, Bar and Bench. By this lopsided disposition, the NBA Leadership has helped in portraying Nigerian lawyers as supporters of infamous conduct in the Judiciary, before the Nigerian people, especially non-members of the legal profession.
    7. The NADL commends the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, for striking out, on Wednesday the 30thof January, 2019 the appellate request for stay of proceedings of the CCT, made by CJN Onnoghen, in affirmation of the inviolability of Section 306 of the Administration of the Criminal Justice Act, which prohibits stay of criminal proceedings; and in obedience to and  fidelity with the decision of the Supreme Court in Olisa Metuh v. FRN, 2017, 11 NWLR, Pt. 1575, 157,
    8. The NADL calls on political power holders and interest groups to refrain from further politicizing the current crisis in the Judiciary. The current “clash of power” is between the Executive Branch of Government and the Head of the Judiciary. It is not a clash of power with the entire Nigerian Judiciary. Even if it was assumed that it was a clash of power between the Executive and the Judiciary, the Legislature is not, at this stage, involved in the dispute to warrant the rumoured bid of the Senate or National Assembly to trigger the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Section 232 of the Constitution, by filing an action in the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Bringing an action between the National Assembly or Senate, under contemplation, to the same Judiciary will mean that the three arms of government will be entangled in a suit, the outcome and dimension of which may be unpredictable. To be clear, there is no cause of action between the Senate and the President on the CJN Onnoghen issue yet, as the Senate is yet to sit or have any session to adopt a resolution on the matter since CJN Onnoghen was charged to the CCT or suspended by the President. The statements being made “ from the throne” by the Senate Leadership cannot be a substitute for sittings and resolutions, as the power to confirm the appointment of a CJN or to remove him from office resides in the collectivity of the Senate, and not in the Senate Leadership alone. In the same vein, it is very doubtful whether the Senate Leadership can institute an action in the Supreme Court under the Original Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court without a formal authorizing resolution to that effect. If such an action is ever permitted by the Supreme Court, the Court may render itself open to individual senators or groups of senators bringing applications to challenge the competence of such an action, which being an action akin to a representative action must have the concurrence of all the unnamed represented parties.
    9. In the prevailing situation, the NADL calls on CJN Onnoghen to seriously consider a resignation from office in the interest of the Nigerian Judiciary. While doing so, he may wish to explore the plea-bargaining provisions under Section 270 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and other similar provisions that may enable him wrap up his planned prosecution and earn himself a dignified and orderly exit from his current travails. In making this suggestion, NADL believes still in the presumed innocence of the suspended CJN Onnoghen under the law and the Constitution. The NADL does not deem or adjudge him guilty.
    10. The NADL urges Nigerians to continue to repose confidence in the judiciary. As bad as allegations of misconduct and corrupt practices in the Judiciary are, Nigerians must realize that sleaze is not the defining characteristic of the Nigerian Judiciary. Corruption in the Judiciary is not the norm. It is an exception. The Judiciary in Nigeria is doubtlessly an institution of integrity and decency.
    11. Finally, the NADL believes it is time to revisit the constitution and composition of the NJC in a constitutional amendment. The NJC has twenty-two (22) members, including the CJN and a Supreme Court Justice next to him in ranking. The CJN appoints twelve (12) out of the twenty members. There is an obvious difficulty in making the NJC work to sanction Supreme Court Justices in deserving cases, let alone exercise disciplinary control over the CJN, except when pushed and forced as it is the situation now. The oddity of having serving Supreme Court Justices, largely exercising disciplinary control over themselves needs to be cured in a creative constitutional re-engineering exercise. The time has, therefore, come for retired jurists, including retired Supreme Court Justices, Court of Appeal Justices, eminent legal scholars and professors of law and lawyers of impeccable integrity to be the members of the NJC, including the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the NJC.

    Jiti Ogunye,

    Chairman, Board of Governors, NADL nadlnigeria@gmail.com

    • Biodun Jeyifo

    bjeyifo@fas.harvard.edu

  • Falana urges NJC to ask Onnoghen to step aside

    Rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to compel the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to step aside pending the determination of the case against him.

    Falana said his position was informed by NJC’s precedent, in which it, few years back, directed judges arrested by security agents and charged to court, to excuse themselves from judicial duties until their cases were concluded.

    He accused the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of engaging in double standard by taking a position to oppose Justice Onnoghen’s suspension.

    Falana argued that it was wrong for the NBA which called for the suspension of judges arrested by security agents in 2016 to insist that a CJN, against who a charge is pending, should remain in office.

    Falana, who was at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to attend to a case in defiance of the NBA’s directive that lawyers boycott court, said the directive was ignored by many lawyers, who turned up in court.

    He said, while he faulted the Executive’s decision to suspend the CJN on an ex-parte order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), he argued that Onnoghen should resign.

    Falana said: “I have a case before court number 26 in the FCT High Court, Abuja. I left Lagos yesterday to handle my case. My clients are around. I have a contract with my client, which supersedes the directive of the NBA.

    “I thought the court would sit. But, unfortunately, we were told the judge is involved in a seminar in preparation for the sittings of the election tribunals, which, for me, is a good excuse for not siting.

    “But, on a very serious note, I am not bound by the resolution of the NBA. I have consistently maintained my position in this self-inflicted crisis that we are going through.

    “I have condemned the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria on the basis of an ex-parte order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. And, at the same time, I have also asked that the suspension be lifted.

    “I have also pleaded with the Chief Justice to do the needful by resigning from office. And I think there is still an opportunity to do what is needed to be done.”

    On why he chose to attend court on a day the NBA directed lawyers to shun courts, Falana argued that with the position he had maintained on the issue, he could not persuade himself “to engage in solidarity with criminality.

    “The National Judicial Council (NJC) should have met on the 15th of January, last week’s Tuesday, and that body would have had the opportunity to save the legal profession and the country this colossal embarrassment.

    “But the Chief Justice, as Chairman of the NJC, in his wisdom, decide unilaterally to postpone the meeting of the NJC indefinitely.

    “So, I am happy that some concerned members of the NJC requisitioned for a meeting of the body and the body is meeting today. And we are hoping that, regardless of the boycott of the NBA, that body will follow its own precedents by asking the honourable Chief Justice to step aside.

    “In 2016, when a number of judges were arrested and charged before the Federal High Court, the NJC rightly decided that those judges be interdicted on the advice of the NBA, and they were so interdicted.

    “This time around, the NBA is busy, mobilising lawyers to defend the Chief Justice. And the picture that I have seen in court,a very sad picture, reminds me of the trial of Mandela. The impression is being given that a freedom fighter is on trial. But, we all know that that is not the case here.

    “We shouldn’t have pushed ourselves to this embarrassing level that the Chief Justice of our country is on trial. You would have expected the NBA leaders to give the appropriate advise in this case.”

    When asked his assessment of the level of lawyers’ compliance with the NBA’s directive, Falana said: “You can see that many lawyers are here in court in defiance of the NBA resolution, because it is not a popular resolution.

    “From information at my disposal, lawyers have turned up in court all over the country to have their cases heard.”

    On whether those who complied were being misled, Falana said: “I will not say that. Everybody has his own freedom. This is a country of freedom. So, those who want to sit at home are entitled to their decision. Those of us in court are also entitled to do so.

    This place (the court premises) could not have been deserted because the NBA has adopted a resolution, which, from what you have seen, is not popular with its members.

    “In the interest of the legal profession, we must operate under the rule of law. And that is what has informed my criticism of the position of the Federal Government,” Falana said.

     

  • South-south govs, Dogara, Falana, others kick

    The South-South Governors Forum,House of Representatives Speaker YakubuDogara and Lagos lawyer/ human rights activist,Mr.Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday joined the long list of critics kicking over Friday’s suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen as Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

    The South-south Governors Forum described Onnoghen’s suspension as a sad commentary on Nigeria’s democracy while Speaker Dogara  said the action was  a  notice that Nigeria is “now a full-blown dictatorship.”

    For Governor NyesomWike of Rivers State the federal government has, by suspending Onnoghen, hijacked the judiciary for political gains while Falana berated government for allegedly bypassing due process in handling the issue.

    Chairman of the South-south Governors Forum and Bayelsa State Governor,Seriake Dickson, said the action of President Muhammadu Buhari was inimical to the desired stability of the nation and critical institutions of state.

    “It is a very sad day, for our nation’s democracy and for the stability of our nation, and the stability of the critical national institution of which the judiciary is primus inter pares,” he said.

    “We must be concerned about the process, the integrity of the national critical institutions that will safeguard and reinforce our democracy, seeing our democracy has come under very severe stress and test by what has happened today”.

    He stressed that while the courts would make pronouncement on the legality or otherwise on the development around the CJN, he personally found the action condemnable

    “Is this action legal? I am sure the courts are there to make pronouncements on it one way or the other. However I have my views, and clearly I condemn it”, he said,

    He emphasized the need for due process and adherence to constitutional provisions, stressing that countries are governed according to laws and mutual respect among the political class.

    The governor said there must be respect for processes in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies.

    He said: “We should stop demonizing, criminalizing one another, because it takes Nigerians to build Nigeria. We cannot demonize all Nigerians and expect to be a great nation or to be taken seriously anywhere.

    “And I believe essentially that whereas there are serious issues to be dealt with, we are essentially a good and decent people and a great nation potentially.”

    Buhari has hijacked the judiciary for political gains, says Wike.

    The governor of Rivers State branded the suspension  of the CJN as the conclusion of Federal Government’s  hijack of the judiciary.

    Receiving a delegation of the National Executive Committee of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria at the Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday,Wike said:”This unconstitutional action of the President has several negative ramifications.  A governor who hates his State Chief Judge can concoct a petition and unilaterally remove him.

    “The whole thing is because APC has crisis in Rivers State.  Just because of that,   you destroy the whole institution.  They want another CJN that will upturn everything . These are the type of actions that generate insecurity “, he said.

    He stressed that if the removal of the CJN succeeds, Nigerians should bid credible polls farewell as the Federal Government can unilaterally sack the National Chairman of INEC over any flimsy excuse.

     

    Dogara:It’s a notice that we now have a full blown dictatorship

    House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, in a statement on his official Twitter handle said: “With the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) by President Muhammadu Buhari, the world has been served notice that Nigeria is now a full-blown dictatorship.

    “We have watched in disbelief as the government recklessly deploys institutional prerogatives; routinely flouts the rule of law; subverts and assaults democratic institutions; refuses to accept opponents as legitimate; suppresses citizens civil liberties(especially those of opponents) and trample underfoot the media. In short, the government’s tyrannical and authoritarian credentials are loathsomely legendary.

    “No provision in Sections 157 and 292 of the 1999 Constitution as amended supports the President in purporting to suspend the CJN or swearing in an acting CJN. The whole idea of a limited government is that the President’s powers is limited by law and it is ultra vires his powers to act in the absence of explicit legislative authorization. That is representative democracy at its best which our 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees.

    “It is instructive to note that our Constitution does not contemplate or presupposes a situation whereby the Judiciary will have a suspended CJN and Acting CJN at the same time. Therefore, it is right to posit, as some have done, that the President now has his own Chief Judge to do his bidding while Nigeria has a sitting CJN until he is removed in line with the provisions of the Constitution.”

    Dogara asked President Buhari to reverse the suspension and follow “the manifestly clear and unambiguous constitutional procedure for the removal of the CJN if he must be removed. Anything short of this demeans all of us.”

     

    Falana: Govt. should withdraw charges against Onnoghen, take due process

    Mr.Femi Falanain his reaction yesterday said: “I have had cause to call on the Attorney-General of the Federation,  Mr. AbubakarMalami(SAN) to withdraw the charge of false declaration of assets filed against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen  at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The call was without prejudice to the merit of the serious allegations levelled against the Chief Justice.

    “In line with decided judicial authorities,I had wanted the National Judicial Council to investigate the allegations. Unfortunately, the 88th statutory meeting of the National Judicial Council scheduled to hold on January 15, 2019, which could have deliberated on the matter and take an informed position, was postponed indefinitely on the directive of the embattled Chief Justice.

    “As the battle shifted to the courts, both the Judiciary and the Executive were shopping for court orders from the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court, the Code of Conduct Tribunal and the Court of Appeal. In the process, settled principles of law were sacrificed for the exigency of the moment.

     

     

    “Thus, at the 15th annual GaniFawehinmi lecture which held in Lagos on January 15, 2019, I was compelled to warn against the dangerous trend. Regrettably, the warning fell on deaf ears. “Curiously, in an act of brazen impunity, the Executive procured an ex parte order from the Code of Conduct Tribunal for the immediate suspension of the Chief Justice from office.

    “In his purported compliance with the ex parte order, President MohammaduBuhari has announced the suspension of Justice Onnoghen as the Chief Justice and appointed Justice Tanko Mohammad as the Acting Chief Justice.

     

     

     

    “Notwithstanding the inauguration of Justice Tanko Mohammad as the Acting Chief Justice, the legal profession should not hesitate to review the entire Onnoghen saga in the interest of the nation’s judiciary. In Elelu-Habeeb (2012) 1 WRN,  the Supreme Court held that by virtue of section 292 of the Constitution, the heads of the judicial arms of the state and federal governments in the country cannot be removed without a prior investigation conducted by the NJC. Consequently, the apex court set aside the purported removal of the appellant as the Chief Judge of Kwara State upon an address forwarded to the House of Assembly by former Governor BukolaSaraki. Therefore, the National Judicial Council should convene and constitute a committee to investigate the allegations leveled against the Chief Justice and make appropriate recommendation to the relevant authorities.

    “Meanwhile, the legal team of the Chief Justice should proceed to challenge his suspension from office either at the Code of Conduct Tribunal or the Court of Appeal. Despite the gravity of the allegations levelled against the Chief Justice, the illegality of the suspension should not be allowed to stand. The ex parte order is a suspect document as the motion ex parte on which it was predicated was allegedly filed on January 9, 2019 while the substantive charge against the Chief Justice was filed at the registry of the Code of Conduct Tribunal on January 11, 2019. Furthermore, the counsel who argued the motion is not indicated in the ex parte order. However, in view of President Buhari’s belated fidelity in the rule of law, the federal government should comply with all valid and subsisting orders of competent municipal and regional courts made against the federal government.”

     

     

     

  • Falana urges NHRC to probe Rann IDP camp killings

    Lagos lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has urged the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to investigate the January 17 bombing of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Rann, Borno State, in which 234 persons were allegedly killed.

    The request was contained in a petition, dated January 17 and titled: Request for Investigation Into the Bombing of IDP Camp in Rann, Borno State on January 17, 2019, the lawyer sent to the Executive Secretary of the commission.

    The killings reportedly occurred after a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jet was reported to have bombed a camp in Rann, where thousands of families displaced during the offensive against Boko Haram insurgents were sheltered.

    According to Falana, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), said its workers in the area had seen at least 200 people wounded and 50 dead, following the bombing and expected the death toll to rise.

    But the chairman of Kale-Balge Local Government Area, Babagana Malarima, had refuted the claims that only 50 people died, saying: “We buried 234 persons in Rann after the bombs were dropped on the IDP camp. We have two other injured persons who died in a hospital in Maiduguri (the state capital).”

    Falana argued that instead of reporting the incident to the Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), which is saddled with the responsibility of investigating aircraft accidents in the country, the authorities of NAF decided suo motu to investigate the immediate and remote causes of the bombing of the IDP camp.

    He said: “Although the report of the inquiry was not made public, the Nigeria Air Force blamed the bombing of the camp on an accident.

    “In a statement credited to the NAF spokesperson Air Commodore Olatunkubo Adesanya, it was said that ‘no NAF pilot leaves his base with the intention of going to kill the same set of people he greatly sacrifices day and night to protect’.”

  • Agbakoba, Falana, Ozekhome condemn freezing of CJN’s accounts

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and activist-lawyers Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) and Femi Falana (SAN) yesterday urged the Federal Government to withdraw the order freezing the bank accounts of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice  Walter Onnonghen.

    They described the directive issued by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to freeze the accounts as illegal and sub judice.

    Activist-lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa argued that the Executive Order 6 relied on by the AGF was inapplicable in Onnoghen’s case.

    To Agbakoba, the AGF does not have the authority to issue such directives to NFIU.

    He said: “To repeat, the AGF has no authority to issue a directive to NFIU to freeze the CJN’s bank accounts as the matter is already pending before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and is therefore sub judice.

    “The proper forum to issue the order at all would be the CCT itself and not the AGF.”

    Falana, in a statement, said since a charge was pending before the CCT, neither the prosecutor nor the defence counsel was permitted by law to resort to self-help under the pretext of preserving the “res” or the subject matter of the criminal proceedings.

    Though the Presidential Executive Order No 6 of 2018 has been validated by the Federal High Court, Falana argued that it did not authorise the freezing of the bank accounts or assets of any defendant charged with economic or financial crime or the contravention of the code of conduct for public officers.

    The SAN said: “It is trite law that once a charge has been instituted in a criminal court or at the CCT, the freezing of the bank accounts or seizure of the assets of the defendant has to be anchored on the valid order of the trial court based on the application of the prosecution. This procedure accords with the rule of law.

    “For the umpteenth time, the Buhari administration ought to be reminded that even under a fascist military junta, Andrew Otutu Obaseki J.S.C. of blessed memory spoke for the Supreme Court when he said inter alia: ‘In the area where the rule of law operates, the rule of self-help by force is abandoned. Nigeria being  one of the  countries in the world, even in the third world which proclaim loudly to follow the rule of law, there is no room for the rule of self-help by force to operate.

    “‘Once a dispute has arisen between a person and the government or authority and the dispute has been brought before the court, thereby invoking the judicial powers of the State, it is the duty of the government to allow the legal and judicial process to run its full course.’”

    The activist-lawyer said he was compelled to call on the Federal Government to withdraw the charge as it was inexorably designed to end in a prosecutorial fiasco.

    “Since it has now been confirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari was not taken into confidence before the charge was filed by the Code of Conduct Bureau, it is high time that the Federal Government terminated the criminal proceedings and advised the petitioner to submit his complaint to the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    “No doubt, the Federal Government may not like the much cited case of Nganjiwa v Federal Republic of Nigeria. Personally, I have had cause to criticise the judgment.

    “But until it is set aside by the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the discipline of judicial officers has to be conducted and concluded by the NJC before they are subjected to criminal proceedings,” Falana maintained.

    Ozekhome described the directive as “doubly illegal, unconstitutional, wrongful and unlawful.”

    According to him, the AGF contravened the order of a Federal High Court judgment which required the government to obtain a court order before it can lawfully deploy Presidential Executive Order No: 6.

    Ozekhome said: “Firstly, the Presidency said it was not aware that the CJN was going to be arraigned. Now, on the same Monday it was making its denial, the AGF was writing a letter, which has since gone viral, to the NFIU to freeze the CJN’s accounts, based allegedly on the provisions of Order 6.

    “I argued last July when this order was rolled out that the order itself was illegal, unconstitutional, invalid and even immoral, because it was trying to empower the President to seize or block a citizen’s account, or prevent a Nigerian citizen from travelling without a court order to that effect.

    “The government then tried to rely on a judgment by Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu which validated the order as not being unconstitutional.

    “But Justice Ojukwu’s judgment made it very clear that for the order to be valid, for any citizen’s account to be blocked, or for any citizen to be prevented from travelling abroad, the government must first obtain a valid court order empowering it to do so.

    “The judgment is there and it’s very clear, because that is the order the AGF is relying on. You cannot rely on an order beyond what the order itself provides. Therefore, the judgment directly overrode the provisions of the order.

    “In this case, it has not been shown that the Attorney-General obtained any court order, prior to allegedly directing the NFIU to freeze the account.

    “That again makes it doubly illegal, unconstitutional, wrongful and unlawful.”

    To  Adegboruwa, the letter written by the AGF to the NFIU “is misplaced”, adding that CJN’s current travails “is unnecessary”.

    He said: “The Executive Order 6 has to do with those who have corruption cases still pending in court, and their names were actually listed in that order – about 155 cases. At the time the order was enforced, this case had not started.

    “The charge against the CJN is not about corruption. It’s a matter of omission to declare assets. There is nobody who has said that the assets are proceeds of crime. There is no such allegation now at all. So Executive Order 6 cannot apply.”

    Adegboruwa disagreed with those asking Chief Justice Onnoghen to clear his name, saying things must be done properly.

    “I support that nobody is above the law but I think that the current effort to demonise the Judiciary through the office of the CJN is not in the best interest of this nation. It will be counter-productive.

    “Our law accommodates everything. You must have a key to enter the courtroom. There is nothing technical about jurisdiction. It was raised on behalf of President Buhari during his certificate case. You don’t jump the gun. There is what we call condition precedent.

    “After all, judges that were taken before the NJC, like Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, has since been dismissed. We can’t bury anything under the ground but we’re saying follow due process,” the lawyer said.

    He also faulted the manner in which details about the charge were made public, saying the CJN’s family was being endangered.

    “Now we have the form filled by the CJN with his handwriting all over the social media, with his private telephone number, names of his family members, his children. That is not how to treat the number four citizen of this country. I don’t think the government can be fighting against itself. A house divided against itself cannot stand,” he said.

    The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has summoned a meeting of all SANs to discuss Chief Justice Onnoghen’s fate.

    A Senior Advocate, whose views were sought on the issue, said: “The Body of Senior Advocates has scheduled a meeting to discuss the matter on Saturday.

    “So, I don’t want to pre-empt what we have to discuss. All the SANs will be there. We’ll table the issues and take a position together. If I say anything now I might undermine their position.”