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Tag: NJC

  • Appoint Muhammad as substantive CJN – Bauchi lawyers urge Buhari, NJC, FJSC,

    A group of lawyers in Bauchi State known as the Body of Bauchi Lawyers of Conscience (BOBOLAC), has called for the immediate appointment of the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Tanko Mohammed, as substantive CJN.

    The group also called on the National Judicial Council, (NJC) and the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC ), to comply with the provisions of Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) that relates to the appointment of a substantive CJN.

    The call followed the removal of the embattled and erstwhile CJN, Walter Onnoghen, who was suspended from office in a judgement delivered by Chairman,  Code of Conduct Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Uma, last week.

    Buhari appointed Muhammad who hail from Bauchi State, acting CJN in January after Walter Onnoghen, was suspended.

    Addressing a media conference yesterday, BOBOLAC through its convener, Shipi Rabo, urged the relevant authorities to set in motion the machinery necessary for the appointment of Justice Tanko Muhammad as CJN.

  • Onnoghen: NJC extends acting CJN’s appointment

    The National Judicial Council said it has extended the appointment of acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, for another three months. The NJC, in a statement, said it took the decision at its 88th Meeting held last Thursday.

    NJC’s spokesman, Soji Oye, said, in the statement, that the extension was at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari, who made a request to that effect. The statement reads: “The attention of the National Judicial Council has been drawn to an online newspaper and daily newspaper report stating that the Council would meet next week to deliberate on the extension of the Acting Appointment of Honourable Dr. Justice I. T. Muhammad CFR, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

    “Contrary to the above, the Council actually met on Thursday 18th April, 2019 and at the 88th Meeting considered and approved the request of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, for the extension of the appointment of Hon. Dr. Justice I. T. Muhammad, CFR, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria for another three (3) months and council has since forwarded its approval to the President.”

     

  • NJC advises Buhari to okay Tanko Muhammad for CJN

    WITH the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC), the coast seems clear for Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad to mount the saddle as CJN.

    President Muhammadu Buhari is likely to accept the NJC’s recommendation that Justice Muhammad should be CJN, The Nation learnt yesterday.

    But Buhari is said to be weighing whether or not to accept the NJC’s recommendations on the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria ( CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    Buhari, who had a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on the issue before flying out to Jordan yesterday, is also said to be seeking legal opinions on the NJC’s decisions.

    The NJC absolved Justice Muhammad of any blame in deferring to the President to be sworn in as the Acting CJN.

    He accepted the appointment, having been presented with an ex parte order of the CCT, which led to Justice Onnoghen’s suspension.

    The Nation learnt that after receiving the NJC’s recommendations, the President elected to seek legal advice on them.

    REad also: NJC advises Buhari to retire Onnoghen over $1.7m cash

    A top government official, who pleaded not to be named because he was not permitted to talk on the matter, said the President was considering:

    • whether or not NJC’s conclusions on findings on Onnoghen did not amount to indictment;
    • if he should accept NJC’s soft-landing decision to retire Justice Onnoghen with full benefits;
    • Onnoghen’s retirement without benefits; and
    • whether the law should run its full course, including the conclusion of Onnoghen’s trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal and a fresh trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    Buhari is also believed to be thinking of asking NJC to recommend deterrence for Onnoghen or seeking further consultations with the council.

    The President is also said to be planning to seek advice on whether the input of the Senate necessary in retiring Onnoghen?

    The source said: “Since he received the NJC’s recommendations, the President has been thinking of how to manage the situation without rubbishing the anti-corruption agenda of his administration. He has the right to accept or reject the council’s recommendations on Onnoghen.

    “The President is already seeking legal opinion on legal issues  surrounding the NJC’s decisions. He does not want to set a bad precedent in tackling this Onnoghengate”.

    The source confirmed that the President met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He believed Onnoghen’s case and other matters were discussed.

    Responding to a question, the source said: “What NJC decided was a kind of soft-landing for Onnoghen with moral and legal implications.

    “Apart from stepping down, there are concerns about what Onnoghen is really offering as deterrent. Some are saying why can’t the law run its full course?

    “Others are pressurising the government to take advantage of the window created by the NJC to rebuild the ties between the Executive and the Judiciary as a result of Onnoghen’s travails.”

    It was unclear whether or not the President would need the consent of the Senate to retire Onnoghen.

    “This is part of the legal opinion being sought by the President,” a presidency source said, pleading not to be named.

    Section 231 of the 1999 Constitution says: “(1)The appointment of a person to the office of  Chef Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

    “(2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Justice of the Supreme Court shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate.

    “(3) A person shall not be qualified to hold the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria or of a Justice of the Supreme Court, unless he is qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than fifteen years.

    “(4) If the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any reason unable to perform the functions of the office,’ then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the President shall point the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.

    “(5) Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial  Council, appointment, pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of section shall cease to have effect after the expiration of three months from the date of such appointment, and the President shall not reappoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.”

    Part 1 of the Third Schedule to 1999 Constitution says: “The National Judicial Council  shall have power  to:

    • (b) recommend to the President the removal from office of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, and to exercise disciplinary control over such office’s;
    • (c) recommend to the Governors from among the list of persons submitted to it by the State Judicial Service  Commissions persons for appointments to the offices of the Chief Judges of the States and Judges of the High courts of the states, the Grand Kadis and Kadis of the sharia Courts of Appeal of the States and Presidents and Judges of the Customary Courts of Appeal of the States;
    • (d) recommend to the governors the removal from office of the judicial officers specified in sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph, and to exercise disciplinary control over such officers;
    • (e) collect, control and disburse all moneys, capital and recurrent, for the judiciary;
    • (f) advise the President and governors or any matter pertaining to the judiciary as may be referred to the Council by the President or the covernors;
    • (g) appoint, dismiss and exercise disciplinary control over member and staff of the Council;
    • (h) control and disburse all monies, capital and recurrent. for the services of the Council; and
    • (i) deal with all other matters relating to broad issues of policy and administration.

    Meanwhile, the NJC has recommended the confirmation of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria.

    Another source said: “The council actually did not find him culpable of infractions. He actually did not even want to be inaugurated as the Acting CJN until there was evidence of an ex-parte order from the CCT on Justice Onnoghen’s suspension.

    “As the next in-command, the NJC said he should take over from the CJN.”

    When contacted, a source in NJC said: “In line with Section 26 of the Judicial Discipline Regulations of 2017, the council has reached out to all those affected by its decisions.

    Section 26 says: “The decision taken in regulation 25 of these Regulations shall be notified to the following persons: (a)The subject of the decision; (b)The Complainant and (c) The relevant Head of Court

    “Upon a request made to the Council, the decision may be notified to any other person. The grant or refusal of such request is in the absolute discretion of the Council.”

  • NJC advises Buhari to retire Onnoghen over $1.7m cash

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the compulsory retirement of the Chief Justice of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen, based on “incontrovertible” findings on him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission( EFCC).

    It asked President Muhammadu Buhari to give effect to the recommendation immediately.

    But the NJC urged the President to allow Justice Onnoghen retain his seat as a former CJN in the Council of State.

    The council also said the CJN should be retired with full benefits.

    According to a source, who pleaded not to be named “because of the sensitivity of the matter”, the compulsory retirement of Justice Onnoghen was the major highlight of NJC’s meeting yesterday.

    All NJC members were said to have decided not to comment on  the meeting because “it would not be right to do so when a letter has been sent to  the President  on their decision.” He should get the letter before any comment, the source said.

    The source said: “The NJC has been able to navigate the most challenging moment for the nation’s judiciary by recommending compulsory retirement of Onnoghen with full benefits.

    “The NJC specifically demanded that the CJN be allowed to take his eminent position in the Council of State like his predecessors.

    “If these recommendations are accepted, the Executive may be on the same page with the Judiciary by staying action on the ongoing trial and other pending trials of the CJN.”

    The NJC may have adopted a “win-win approach” to ensure that the Executive and the Judiciary are on the same page.”

    Another source familiar with how the NJC arrived at its decision said the “EFCC’s report on Justice Onnoghen was damning and incontrovertible”.

    The anti-graft agency accused the CJN of “being in possession of funds which are fairly not attributable to his known, provable and legitimate source of income”.

    The opening of a dollar account in Standard Chartered Bank for the CJN by a lawyer, Joe Agi, with $30,000 was said to be unhealthy.

    The EFCC had accused Justice Onnoghen of being unable to account for curious deposits in his accounts.

    The anti-graft commission alleged that deposits had accumulated to $1,716, 000.

    The amounts in the said account were deposited as follows: $74,200 (2009); $291,800 (2010); $340,000 (2011); $625,000 (2012); $298,000 (2013); $40,000 (2015) and $47,000 (2016). The total was $1,716,000.

    The agency also accused Justice Onnoghen of depositing $1,716,000 in a United States dollar account operated with the Standard Chartered Bank in 2009, marked as exhibit P4 C, between 2009 and 2016.

    The petition said: “From the evidence on record, it is clear that the Respondent failed to declare all the accounts and funds in exhibit P4-P4D when he declared his 2014 asset in November 2016. Your lordship will observe that the Respondent only declared his salary account with the Union Bank exhibit P3 and failed to declare P4-P4D, which are the accounts that warehoused funds that are far above the Respondent’s known and provable lawful income.

    “My lords, by the provisions of Rule 1.2 of the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers, it is clear that because members of the public expect a high standard of conduct from a judge, the Respondent is under the obligation to avoid impropriety  and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities both in his professional and private life. It is our submission my lords, that any conduct of the Respondent that give rise to the appearance of impropriety is a judicial misconduct and same is punishable under the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers.

    REad also: Onnoghen closes case at CCT after calling a witness

    “It is our humble submission that the petitioner proved before this Honourable Panel that the Respondent was in possession of funds which are fairly not attributable to his known, proveable and legitimate source of income. The evidence shows that my lord earned a monthly salary in the sum of N750,819.87, which is about N9,000,000.00 per annum. My lords, as shown in exhibit P10A page 14 paragraph XXVI, the Respondent only earned the sum of N91,962,362.49 as salary between September 2005 and October 2016. It is also on record that the exhibit P3 is the salary account of my lord wherein his salaries are paid.

    “My lords, the evidence before this Honourable Committee shows clearly that the Respondent opened United State Dollars account with the Standard Chartered Bank in 2009, exhibit P4 C. This USD account was opened by Mr. Joe Agi SAN and the first cash depositor of United States of America dollars into the said account. We humbly refer my lords to the entry of the 29th day of June,2009.

    “Though the Respondent claimed that he was the one who gave the learned SAN, Joe Agi the $30,000.00 to deposit to exhibit P4C, the Respondent could not give any reasonable explanation as to the source of this money. My lords, the Respondent admitted under cross-examination that the USD was not his salary and that he only received dollars as estacodes which is meant for his official trips.

    “My lords, upon the opening of the USD account exhibit P4C, a lot of cash deposits in Dollars were made to this account. The evidence before my lords is that between 2009 and 2016 a lot of cash deposits were made into exhibit P4C.

    “My lords, from the evidence before this Honourable Panel, it is clear that these huge sums of money were not earned by the Respondent as his salaries and allowances. It is our humble submission that the burden of proving the legitimate source or origin of the sum of $1,716,000.00 lies heavily on the Respondent.”

    The amounts in the said account were deposited as follows: $74,200 (2009); $291,800 (2010); $340,000 (2011); $625,000 (2012); $298,000 (2013); $40,000 (2015) and $47,000 (2016). The total was $1,716,000.

  • NJC issues fresh query to acting CJN

    ACTING Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad was yesterday given seven days by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to respond within seven days, to a fresh petition written against him by the Action People’s Party (APP).

    The directive came two days after suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen got a seven-day ultimatum from the Council to respond to a fresh petition against him by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

    Both Justices had up till last Monday to respond to petitions earlier filed against them.

    As part of its resolutions at yesterday’s sitting, the NJC also raised a five-man panel to further look into allegations against the Justices Onnoghen and Muhammad.

    The committee is headed by a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice S. A. Akintan.

    According to a statement by NJC’s spokesman Soji Oye, the membership of the new committee was drawn from the NJC.

    The statement reads: “In continuation of its emergency meeting, the NJC accepted the result of the preliminary assessment of the petitions against Hon. Mr. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, GCON and Hon. Mr. Justice I. T. Muhammad, CFR that the petitions were worthy of further investigation and should not be terminated under Rule 17 of the Judicial Discipline Regulations of the Council.

    “Consequently, the council constituted a five-member Investigation Committee pursuant to Rule 20 (1) of the Judicial Discipline Regulations under the Chairmanship of Hon. Mr. Justice S. A. Akintan, CON, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

    “A new petition against Hon. Mr. Justice I. T. Muhammad, CFR, by the Action People’s Party (APP) was referred to the Hon. Mr. Justice for his comments within an abridged seven days.

    “Council directed the Investigation Committee to work expeditiously, determine all the petitions and responses   and report to Council for a final decision.”

  • Onnoghen is subject to law, he can be arrested – Sagay

    Eminent professor of law Itse Sagay (SAN) on Wednesday said Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen was not above the law, so the order to arrest him for failing to appear before the Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was in order.

    Sagay told our correspondent that the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) should have appeared before the CCT to demonstrate his regard for the rule of law.

    He said: “I don’t want to speak much on it, because whatever I say, they will pour petrol and set fire on it.

    “But from the beginning when this problem started, I said that no one is above the law.

    “Ask yourself, if you or I were the ones accused, would we not appear before the CCT?

    “How is Onnoghen different from the rest of us legally and constitutionally? No way,” Sagay said.

    The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman disagreed with former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President Dr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) who said the CCT’s order was subversive of the rule of law since a petition against Onnoghen was pending before the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    Sagay said: “I don’t want to criticise Agbakoba, but they should think of the future of this country.

    “They should not create a privileged class that is not subject to law whilst others are subject to it. At the end of the day, it will bring the law into contempt.

    “I think Onnoghen should have appeared before the CCT to show that as the former head of the Judiciary, he has great respect for the rule of law.”

  • NJC gives Onnoghen seven days to defend himself

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has queried the sources of inflows into the accounts of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    It also said its investigation of the CJN indicated that the inflows “are not typical of the financial transactions of a public servant.”

    The anti-graft agency asked the National Judicial Council (NJC) to consider its petition against Justice Onnoghen and asked him to defend himself.

    Although the EFCC is still conducting more investigation on Justice Onnoghen, it forwarded a preliminary report to the NJC for consideration.

    It was gathered that the decision of the NJC will guide the next action on the suspended CJN.

    It was learnt that once the suspension of the CJN is ratified by the NJC or if Justice Onnoghen is asked to proceed on retirement, the EFCC will be at an advantage to grill him.

    But in its petition, the EFCC  said its investigation confirmed suspicious payments into the CJN’s accounts. Such funds  include  $30,000 allegedly paid by a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Joe Agi, who was quizzed last week.

    It said the sources of inflows into some of the CJN’s accounts were questionable.

    “From the investigation conducted so far, it is possible that the payments into the various accounts might be bribes. This is because the sources of the inflows into his accounts other than the salary account in Union Bank of Nigeria Plc are unknown and probably fraudulent, and the nature of the transactions (including structured payments) is not typical of the financial transactions of a public servant.

    The preliminary investigation report on Justice Onnoghen reads: “An Intelligence Report that the above mentioned subject was alleged to be involved in a number of bribery and corrupt activities.

    “Upon receipt of the Report, a preliminary investigation was conducted during which the following actions were carried out.

    • A request was sent to the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) for a report on the suspect;
    • A letter of investigation activities was sent to Standard Chartered Bank, Union Bank and Heritage Bank to provide the statements of accounts of the suspect;
    • A BVN search through the NIBSS platform was conducted on the suspect and six (6) more accounts were found to be linked or connected to the suspect;
    • The statements of accounts of the suspect were analysed and further to that, a letter was written to Standard Chartered Bank requesting for additional information on suspicious activities in the account.

    In the report to the NJC, the EFCC gave the details of how cash was remitted into the dollar, pound sterling, Euro and Naira accounts

    The summary of the EFCC’s findings is as follows:

    Standard Chartered Bank USD ($) Account:

    • The balance as at September 19, 2016 is $134,525.40;
    • The turnover in the account from October 2012 to September 2016 is $1,922,657.00

    “The following highlights some of the suspicious activities in the account.

    • Pattern of structured payments of $10,000.00 each in 2012. For example, a total of $630,000.00 was credited to the accounts using this pattern.
    • Similarly structured payments of $10,000.00 amounting to $297,800.00, $50,000.00 and $36,000.00 were deposited in the account in 2013, 2015 and 2016 respectively;
    • There was also a credit of $121,116.00 into the account from 2014 to 2016 from Life Friend Plc. The payments were in four installments, of $30,279.00 each. These payments suggest the suspect has investments;
    • A payment of $482,966.00 from Alicia Redemption Pro and shortly after, $800,000.00 was invested in SCB Investment Subscription. We are in the process of verifying these transactions;
    • Other suspicious transactions in the account are credit of $19,764.00 from Pur of Noble and seven (7) payments of $3,250.00 each amounting to $22,750.00 from Lloyds TSB.

    On the operation of the Pound Sterling account by the CJN, the EFCC added as follows: (a.) The balance as at September 30, 2016 was £108,348.00; (b). The turnover in the account from 2012 to September, 2016 was £138.439.00;

    “The following highlights some of the suspicious activities in the account: (1) There was a self -transfer of £40,268.40 into the  account on May 31, 2016;  (2) There were also self-deposits by the suspect of £49,760.00 from July 2015 to September, 2016,” the report added.

    On the Naira account in SCB, the EFCC put the “current balance as at December 18, 2013 was  N1,276,024.65;

    It said: “There was a turnover of N4,462,000.00 from 2011 to December, 2013.”

    “The following highlights some of the suspicious activities in the account:  A transfer of N41,262.000.00 ($260,000) was made from the Dollar account. The money was used to make payment of N41million to Ad hoc Committee on the Sale of Federal Government Houses, suggesting that he bought a property with proceeds of the transfer;

    “The only other significant transactions in the accounts are six (6) structured cash payments of N500,000.00 each and one payment of N700,000.00 amounting to N3.7mlllion from November, 2013 to August, 2016.

    Regarding the Euro account, the report said “turnover in the account from 2013 to September 2016 was €55,154.00 and the  balance as at September 30, 2016 was €55,154.00;

    “There were no significant transactions in the account from 2013.

    Concerning the CJN’s separate Naira Account (Salary Account) in Union Bank, the report claimed that  “the balance as at October 10, 2016 was  N22,510,636.27 although the turnover in the account from September, 2005 to October, 2016 was N91,962.362.49;

    “His salary in 2005 was N240,202.20 and it rose to  N751,082.3 in February 2008. The salary remains within this range till date;

    “He did not spend from the salary account from March 2015 to October 2016. The salary and allowances accumulated to N22,520,636.27 in October 2016 from N6,132 885.24 in March of same year.”

  • ‘Don’t give Justice Tanko’s appointment religious colouration’

    The Kaduna State chapter of the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, (SCSN) has warned against giving the appointment of Justice Muhammad Tanko a religious colouration.

    Justice Muhammad Tanko became the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) following the suspension of Justice Walter Onnonghen for non-declaration of his asset.

    In a press conference led by its Chairman, Sheikh Sambo Rigachikun and the Secretary, Engr. AbdurRahman Hassan in Kaduna, the SCSN warned that further agitations against the suspension of justice Onnonghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) could polarize the fragile country, rather than uniting it.

    The Muslim body also called on the South-South governors and the Coalition of United Political Parties, (CUPP) among others agitating over the suspension of Justice Walter Onnonghen to exercise absolute restrain and let justice prevail on the matter.

    While urging the Federal government not to succumb to any form of pressure from ‘some quarters,’ that may amount to breakdown of law and order and do all it could within the constitutional provision to bury the issue, the Muslim body said it is expected of the National Judicial Council, (NJC) to discharge its duty at all cost by making appropriate decision against any judicial officer that is unfit and improper to be a judicial officer in the land, as the trust is on them.

    They cautioned those attempting to give the appointment of Acting Chief justice,  Tanko Muhammad and other happenings in the judiciary a religious colouration to be mindful of the fact that; “it is a costly trend, it’s an ill wind that will blow no one good, in this country.”

    Read Also: Tanko Nuhu buried in Nasarawa

    According to SCSN: “It is disheartening that the same Senior Advocates that saw the suspension and removal of Justice Salami are now faulting the similar action against Justice Onnonghen. How can a Senior Advocate will degrade himself to think within the whim of his ethnicity and religious sentiment?  This is unfortunate.

    “It is quiet fresh in our memory when the then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami faced the same fate of suspension and removal not on allegation if corruption from his side under the Jonathan’s administration, but because he tried in his own way to uphold justice, unfortunately it did not go down well with the then administration.

    “It is a fact that the same administration also suspended the then CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi for whistle blowing on some missing funds.  Heavens did not fall. No any Muslim protested that his own was removed illegally, simply because he acted patriotically in favor of our dear nation,” the Muslim body recalled.

    The council however urged all Muslims and the public in general, to be law abiding and pray fervently for peaceful coexistence in the country.

  • What NJC must do, by Mamora, Igbokwe, others

    There is a moral burden on the National Judicial Council (NJC), some Nigerians said yesterday.

    They were reacting to the stand taking by the council on the petitions against suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen and Acting CJN Tanko Muhammad.

    Former Senate Deputy Minority Leader, Olorunnimbe Mamora said: “This is trying moment for the NJC.

    He said the Council has moral and legal burden. How they manage this problem of  Justice  Onnoghen would  either make or mar their credibility. If they mishandle it, it is not only the image of NJC that would be at stake but the entire judiciary.

    “The eyes of the entire world are on them. My position is wait and see because I don’t know what  informed the NJC to have  arrived at those decisions.”

    Read also: Falana urges NJC to ask Onnoghen to step aside

    Activist lawyer Monday Ubani expressed optimism that NJC will resolve all the problems pertaining to Justice Onnoghen’s suspension.

    He said: “NJC will solve the problems the judiciary had encountered in Onnoghen’s matter in a manner that will be satisfactory to all parties involved.

    “I am happy with the development, NJC and the judiciary will work together to strengthen our judicial system.”

    The former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) vice chairman praised the Federal Government for allowing due process to take place.

    The Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Joe Igbokwe, however, warned the NJC against cover.

    He said: “I can’t understand why the NJC had to issue query to the acting CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad.

    “The NJC is trying to work on our psychology; they want to give Onnogeh soft landing; they are trying to cover up something; why issue query on Justice Muhammad. All the tactics will not work . Let’s wait and see.”

     

  • 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.