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Tag: Onnoghen

  • Onnoghen: Falana accuses NBA of double standard

    Rights activist Femi Falana (SAN) has accused the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of playing double standard by taking a position to support the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    Falana argued it was wrong for the NBA that called for the suspension of judges who were arrested by security agents in 2016 to turn around to fault the suspension of a CJN, against whom a charge is pending.

    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 today.

    He said while he faulted the Executive’s decision to suspend the CJN on an ex-parte order, he thinks Onnghen should resign.

    Details shortly…

  • Court boycott: lawyers express mixed reactions

    Some lawyers in Lagos have expressed mixed reactions to the resolution by the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) for lawyers to boycott courts for two days over what they tagged illegal suspension of the Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    The NBA reached the resolution after its National Executive Council meeting held on Monday Jan. 28.

    However, some lawyers said such resolution would not be effective while others said it would send a message that rule of law and constitutional provisions should not be undermined.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Federal Government had on Jan. 25 suspended the CJN over failure to declare assets as required of every public servant.

    The government had acted on a motion exparte granted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and replaced Onnoghen by Justice Tanko Mohammed as acting CJN.

    Mr Ogedi Ogu, a Lagos-based lawyer told NAN that such resolution would not be effective because “even the NBA president, Mr Paul Usoro has an unresolved issue which will make any protest led by him to appear as pursuing a personal vendetta.

    Read Also: NBA orders court boycott

    “Based on what is in the public view, It is doubtful if many lawyers are going to partake in this because the NBA president can not rally lawyers for anti-corruption crusade when he has some corruption charges against him in court”.

    He, however, advised that the provisions on exparte applications be strictly adhered to.

    “The impression at the bar was that exparte applications were not grantable, but actions of the CJN and the federal government in obtaining different exparte applications have shown otherwise, however creating some sort of constitutional crisis,” Ogu said.

    Mr Chibuikem Opara, in his own opinion said that the call for lawyers to boycott courts for two days starting from Jan. 29 was a good one.

    He said such a resolution would make government ensure that their actions were guided by the provisions of the constitution.

    According to him, the court boycott is part of the sacrifices that should be made by every patriotic Nigerian, because if nothing is done urgently, other successive governments will believe that they can take laws into their hands.

    Opara believed that the action would save the judiciary from destruction.

    “If the judiciary is destroyed, lawyers will be the ultimate losers. It will affect lawyers income.

    “I would have liked if the boycott was for more than two days to send strong signal that provisions of the constitution should be strictly followed,” he said.

    He said that the courts would be a ghost of itself if lawyers boycott them.

    Another Lagos-based lawyer, Mr Chris Ayiyi, in his own view, advised that exparte application should not be obtained fraudulently.

    He said though the resolution to boycott courts was made to ensure that constitutional provisions was respected, “it would affect some lawyers’ day to day income”.

  • Onnoghen: The wasp on the nation’s scrotum

    An otherwise solid moral argument against Justice Walter Onnoghen is, alas, weakened by those uninformed enough to draw a parallel with the Ayo Salami affair, to justify the suspension of the Chief Justice of the Nation (CJN) last Friday.

    Nothing could be more offensive to either the spirit of natural justice or the memory of the just.

    True, both fell short in the eyes of the presiding king, but for markedly disparate reasons. As President of the Court of Appeal, Salami refused to cut a deal with the devil to keep a job. Put simply, PDP had suspected him of romance with the opposition, but without a cast-iron proof or what they call “smoking gun”.

    For under his lordship, that temple of law was fast becoming the cemetery of many a PDP gubernatorial usurper who had managed to beat the election tribunal. And still hovering across the national space then was the ghost of the Sokoto governorship case hurriedly buried in a shallow grave, but with the proverbial foot still sticking out.

    So, anxiety – if not panic – stalked high places in Abuja.  For Justice Salami’s conscientious diligence had ensured stolen mandates were retrieved in Ondo, Edo, Ekiti and Osun States, thereby altering the nation’s electoral calendar forever.

    In desperation, PDP’s scheming undertakers wielded their trump card. They brought Salami a whited sepulcher in form of unsolicited promotion to the higher bench. All kind of chicanery known or strange to judicial service were brought to bear to contrive a stalemate till then embattled Salami became ripe for retirement statutorily. To finally do Salami in, Jonathan, even as notoriously tardy and nefarious as he was, still had to invoke NJC’s report, induced undoubtedly. How then does the foregoing epic confrontation between a noble judge and those who believed in nothing compare to the unfolding Onnoghen sacrilege in which a man expected to be the embodiment of virtues and nobility is, instead, found to be luxuriating in moral filth and even confessed to grave misconduct?

    Seeking justification by lumping together the two referenced judicial actors who actually represent both extremes of a compelling mortality tale – as Buhari supporters have done, could only be a product of faulty reasoning. If anything, they betray their idol by giving him away as perhaps no better than his predecessor in moral judgement and lacking the gumption to know his limits in the intercourse of democracy, however altruistic his intentions.

    To be sure, all genuine patriots must applaud the rigour apparent in the forensic inquiry that unearthed Onnoghen’s hidden billions in dollars and real estate. From what has been revealed thus far, one could not be accused of malice to speculate that the supposed chief priest in the temple of law had parlayed his sacred stool to judgement racketeering. If the court has been identified as the last hope of the common man, a society is in grave danger indeed if unimpeachable evidence suggests in anyway that the chief legal officer is of doubtful character, let alone attests a long career of impropriety.

    Other than deciding which colluding judge handled which “juicy” case, it would then seem the man had all along been left alone to devote the remainder of his official hours to the obviously more pleasurable – but nonetheless abominable – task of monitoring the regular beeps of bank alert to his conglomerate of bank accounts – local and offshore.

    On that ground alone, it had become clear that Onnoghen was already ethically fractured that he probably would be requiring an overdose of the moral equivalent of steroids to even make an appearance in the public, much less dare wear a wig and gown to sit in judgement over someone else.

    Given the sheer weight of the sleaze now excavated, a more self-respecting official would have long spared himself the shame of more indignity arising from further exposure by voluntarily throwing in the towel. Someone mindful of the integrity of the judiciary as an institution and protective of its pride would not wait till things degenerate to this sorry state that the task of defending him publicly is now being championed by a motley crowd dominated, in turn, by known shady characters.

    Among them also may be found those who had probably paid dollars and were issued receipts for “black market” judgements in the past and so now afraid Nemesis might arrive their own doors soon.

    Having said that, let it however be stressed that a shallow understanding of Montesquieu’s doctrine of separation of power is what is betrayed when the head of the executive branch takes liberty to cite an order from the relatively “inconsequential” Code of Conduct Tribunal as enough grounds to suspend the head of a “sister” branch. Only one word best describes any attempt to short-circuit the due process in the circumstance – arbitrariness.

    In order that things do not get too complicated and the original question lost, let us, for now, conveniently ignore the growing insinuations of official hypocrisy here by not remembering that the issuant of the very order with which Onnoghen was clobbered too is yet to fully wash himself clean of similar allegation of receiving bribes on duty.

    Or the no less salacious report of a creeping power incest in that the spouse of the acting CJN is a known agent of the ruling party, aside the open secret that the spouse of the critical Court of Appeal is also seeking to represent Bauchi at the senate in the coming general elections under APC.

    That singular precipitate action of last Friday, let it be said, spoils Buhari’s argument and invariably creates a moral baggage for what should otherwise be supported as a worthy battle to combat graft and make a better society. Everything considered, genuine patriots defensive of the inviolability of the institutions as the most sustainable recipe for the harmony and balance of society could not have failed to contemplate other scenarios to resolve the Onnoghen challenge without having to drag the entire bench out for public ridicule as currently being witnessed.

    In specific terms, we are not in a position to know yet whether any sort of “soft landing” for the CJN was ever negotiated in confidence before the scandal blew open. Were the do-gooders in the executive branch truly committed to preserving the prestige of the judiciary as they would have us believe as the basis for the current course of action, a few other options could have been pursued with a view to achieving the same outcome.

    For instance, would it not have been more prudent to call the errant officer aside quietly, show him the weighty dossier and then advise him to resign voluntarily, if only to preserve what is left of his public image and also the integrity of the judiciary as an institution? Was this done? If yes, did the man refuse?

    Regardless of the hell-raising at the gate by Onnoghen sympathizers, something is quite undeniable now. If we were observant, we should have since perceived the pathetic picture of an absconding man or a troubled character shutting himself in. It explains why Onnoghen would suddenly adjourn indefinitely the sitting of the National Judicial Council statutorily headed by the CJN. And when some busybodies circulated a false report that his abode had been encircled by EFCC hounds, he quickly put out a statement debunking the story.

    If we also listen carefully above the babel, we would observe that, even in their irreverence, none of his advocates thus far has an answer to the startling cash revelations which, ordinarily, would recommend Onnoghen strongly for the next issue of Forbes magazine as perhaps the richest judicial worker!

    True, we live in dangerously treacherous times in which what is known cannot be detailed in words, and what is written is clearly an understatement of reality. For instance, it is known that the legislature in Abuja is now led by Buhari’s enemies and, ipso facto, is not expected to see things his own way. So, seeking the concurrence of a partisan National Assembly to ease out the mortally injured Onnoghen seamlessly would be herculean indeed.

    But until the provisions of the current law is discharged, the NJC is the only body empowered to recommend such summary action against an errant CJN. It is clear Onnoghen cannot continue. The NJC must however be allowed to assert its authority, even if it means summoning the grace to devise a more dignifying exit for its head that has fallen into infamy.

  • Onnoghen suspension: Senate heads for Supreme Court

    The Senate on Monday filed a case at the Supreme Court seeking the apex court’s interpretation on whether President Muhammadu Buhari acted within the provision of the constitution in his suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    The Senate is also asking the court to determine whether the action of the President does not amount to usurpation of the powers of the Senate as provided for in Section 292 of the constitution.

    Read Also; Acting CJN leads panel at Supreme Court sitting

    A statement by the Special Adviser (Media and Publicity) to the Senate President, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said that following the filing of the case, the matter of the suspension of the CJN which is the main issue for which the Senate had planned to reconvene today, has become subjudiced.

    “Therefore, in line with the standing rules of the Senate not to debate issues that are already pending before the court, the reconvening of the Senate on Tuesday has been put off,” Olaniyonu said.

  • Security men chase away staff from Onnoghen’s office

    Security men, including police personnel on Monday, chased out staff working in the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN).

    The sprawling office, with adjourning offices, occupied by CJN’s support staff, located at towards the back of the Supreme Court complex, was cleared on Monday morning by security men.

    The suspended CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen was not in the office when the incident happened.

    A source told The Nation that policemen arrived the CJN wing in the building around 7am and ordered every to leave.

    The source claimed the move was intended to prevent the suspended CJN from further accessing his office.

    “They came around 7 am and ordered everyone to leave. They did not tell us why. We were not able to return to our office again until we closed yesterday,” the source said.

    Meanwhile the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) adjourned indefinitely on Monday, proceedings in the case against Onnoghen.

    Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar announced the adjournment on Monday.

    He said the tribunal wished to await the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja in a motion for stay of proceedings filed by the CJN and on which arguments were taken on January 24 this year.

    Umar said the adjournment was in obedience of the interim order of stay of proceedings mad on January 24 by the Court of Appeal.

    The tribunal commenced sitting today at 11am, as against the usual practice where the tribunal sits by 10am.

    Read Also: Onnoghen’s suspension not signal to dictatorship – FG

    Also on Monday, the Supreme Court resumed normal duties without signs betraying the recent unceremonious change in its leadership

    The court opened for business at its usual time on Monday, while the court’s digital cause list was switched on at a little after 8 am, displayed the about 11 cases scheduled for hearing for the day.

    At exactly 9.13am, proceedings commenced in Court One of the Supreme Court, when a five-man panel, led by the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad began sitiing.

    The panel, which included Justices Mary Peter-Odili, Amiru Sanusi,Kudirat Kekere-Ekun and Paul Galinje conducted proceedings on cases.

  • Onnoghen’s suspension not signal to dictatorship – FG

    The Federal Government says the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen, does not signify the onset of dictatorship or tyranny, as some people have insinuated.

    The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who gave the explanation at a media briefing in Abuja on Monday, said that the suspension had nothing to do with the forthcoming elections.

    He said contrary to what the opposition and their likes had been saying, the CJN’s suspension was a consequence of his breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

    He stressed that President Muhammadu Buhari “is an avowed democrat, which he has proven time and time again and the Administration stands firm on the rule of law’’.

    “It amounts to irresponsible extrapolation to say that the suspension of Justice Onnoghen is the onset of dictatorship.

    “This whole issue is about the country’s highest judicial officer, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, being accused of a breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, and the legal and moral conundrum surrounding that.

    “It is about the suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the suspended CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law.

    “It is about the Hon. Justice Onnoghen himself admitting to the charges that he indeed failed to follow the spirit and letter of the law in declaring his assets, calling it a ‘mistake’.

    “And it is about him refusing to take responsibility, instead opted to put the entire judiciary on trial,’’ he said.

    He said that the Government had given the embattled CJN the opportunity of fair hearing, but he abused his position and the judicial process by filing frivolous applications and even dodging service of process.

    The minister also said that the suspension of Onnoghen was not in anyway, a threat to the nation’s democracy or the country’s very existence.

    Read Also; Onnoghen: ‘Ensure diligent prosecution, not persecution’

    Quoting Lord Denning, the then Lord Justice of the British Court of Appeal, Mohammed said “a judge should in his own character be beyond reproach, or at any rate should have so disciplined himself that he is not himself a breaker of the law.

    He added: ”Nations fall when judges are unjust, because there is nothing which the multitude think worth defending.”

    The minister berated a section of the media for shirking their agenda-setting role and failing to objectively lead the discourse on the issue of the allegation facing the CJN and his subsequent suspension.

    “It is regrettable to note that the media, which should have led the discourse, has not done so. In fact, a section of the media has taken sides. Several newspapers have written editorials on this issue.

    “Some newspapers have employed rather crude and obnoxious language to push forth their opinions, while others have been more tempered.

    “But curiously, none has written from a perspective that shows that they understand the big picture,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had on Jan. 25 complied with the order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, directing the suspension of the CJN.

    The CJN was suspended pending the determination of the cases against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and several fora relating to his alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

    The President, who announced Onnoghen’s suspension at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday consequently swore in Justice Tanko Mohammed as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

    Since then, there have been widespread reactions to the development from within and outside the country.

  • Urchins disrupt NBA NEC meeting on Onnoghen

    Hired street urchins numbering several hundred on Monday disrupted the planned enlarged meeting of the Nigeria Bar Association, harassing and intimidating lawyers who came for the meeting at the Central Business District of Abuja.

    The urchins carrying anti Onnoghen placards successfully disrupted attempts by some of the lawyers to state their position.

    Attempts by Journalists to speak to the lawyers was constantly disrupted by chants of Ba maso, Ba maso meaning we don’t want and In no must go.

    The NBA meeting which was supposed to start at 12.000 could not start as a result of delay in the arrival of many of the NEC members who apparently were afraid of the tense situation around the NBA headquarters, venue of the meeting.

    Journalists and non NEC members were kept outside the complex as the few policemen on ground battle to keep the urchins at bay even as their number keep rising as they continuously arrive in open trucks.

  • Breaking: Onnoghen: CCT adjourns trial indefinitely

    The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has adjourned indefinitely, proceedings in the case against the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    Tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar announced the adjournment on Monday. He said the tribunal wishes to await the decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja in a motion for stay of proceedings filed by the CJN and on which arguments were taken on January 24 this year.

    Read Also: Lawyers protest Onnoghen ’s suspension

    Umar said the adjournment was in obedience of the interim order of stay of proceedings made on January 24 by the Court of Appeal.

    The tribunal commenced sitting today at 11 am, as against the usual practice where the tribunal sits by 10am.

    Details later…

     

  • Photos: Lawyers protest Onnoghen’s suspension

    Following the suspension of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, Lawyers and some Civil Society Organisations have stormed the Nigerian Bar Association on Monday to protest.

  • Onnoghen: NJC members in move to save Judiciary

    An “emergency” move to save the Judiciary has begun.

    The National Judicial Council (NJC) has summoned an emergency meeting of its members for tomorrow to discuss “developments in the Judiciary”.

    Members are expected to arrive in Abuja for the meeting scheduled for 10am.

    It was also gathered that the main agenda of the meeting is the suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), the inauguration of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad as acting CJN and the allegation of the code of conduct violation against Justice Onnoghen.

    A source said Justice Onnoghen and Justice Muhammad may be excluded from the meeting, because of their involvement in the issues to be discussed.

    A source at the NJC said the suspended CJN had allegedly prevented the body from addressing the issues surrounding the charge against him when he used his power as Chairman of NJC to suspend, indefinitely, the body’s meeting earlier planned for January 15.

    The source said: “I believe this meeting is meant for members to effectively look at the issues and recent developments in the Judiciary and for them to take a formal position.

    “Like the acting CJN said on Saturday, the Judiciary is truly in a trying time. And it is important that the NJC takes a formal position for posterity sake.”

    The embattled CJN will know his fate today on whether or not he will face trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

    Onnoghen’s defence lawyers have challenged the jurisdiction of the tribunal to put him in the dock on six allegations bordering on alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.

    If the CCT assumes jurisdiction, the CJN has no choice but to make himself available for trial.

    But if the tribunal declines jurisdiction, the case against Onnoghen will be struck out and he will be back to his seat leaving the acting CJN, Justice Tanko Mohammed, with no choice but to step down.

    Also, if the CCT declares that it has no jurisdiction, the suspension of Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari will automatically amount to nothing.

    As at the close of work on Friday, the CCT was yet to receive the Court of Appeal Ruling which ordered it to stay action on the trial of Onnoghen.

    There were strong indications last night that the Federal Government may still petition the NJC and submit a heap of evidence against Justice Onnoghen.

    According to a source, who spoke in confidence, the decision of the tribunal will determine whether or not the suspension of Justice Onnoghen will subsist.

    The source said: “There are two applications before the CCT but the most important is the application by the defendant (Onnoghen) through his lawyers, challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to try him.

    “Once the CCT affirms jurisdiction, the CJN will undergo trial on the allegations against him. But if the tribunal has no jurisdiction, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, will strike out the case against the CJN.

    “And any decline of jurisdiction implies that the ex parte order which led to the suspension of the CJN will become a nullity. The tribunal will also not be able to hear the interlocutory application of the prosecution before it.”

    As at press time, the CCT was yet to receive the Court of Appeal ruling which ordered it to stay action on the trial of Onnoghen.

    The CCT source said: “The Court of Appeal on Wednesday restrained this tribunal from going ahead with the trial of Justice Onnoghen. We have not been served the ruling.

    “If we are served the order before sitting, we will, out of respect, obey the order of the Court of Appeal and adjourn the matter to a date. But the tribunal will not adjourn sine die (indefinitely.”

    The presidency opted to file an application for ex parte order to suspend the CJN in the light of the provision of Section 231(4) to enable Justice Onnoghen face his trial in CCT and attend to other related cases in court, The Nation learnt.

    The section states: “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 appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.”

    The source said: “The suspension of the CJN is actually meant to allow him enough time to concentrate on his arraignment before the CCT and his applications before other courts, including his likely appearance before the National Judicial Council (NJC).

    ”Like in other jurisdictions, the CJN cannot remain in office and be attending court sessions here and there. He needs this leverage to be able to answer all the allegations against him.

    “Unless the CJN is pretending, his arraignment before the CCT and other issues have distracted him in the last 10 days. He could not even attend the last Council of State meeting. The President decided to take the bull by the horns because allegations of corruption are involved.”

    On the tenure of the Acting CJN, the source added: “He will be in charge for at least three months. It is not an absolute appointment.

    “Go and read Section 231 (5) of the 1999 Constitution. This action was not based on sentiments at all.”

    Section 231 (5) says: “Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council, appointment pursuant to the provisions of subsection (4) of this 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 relapsed.”

    Another source also attributed the suspension of the CJN to the abrupt postponement of the 88th meeting of the NJC by Justice Walter Onnoghen.

    The source said security reports indicated that the postponement was allegedly a “plot” to prevent the NJC from allowing the government to present a petition to the council for discussion which might lead to the suspension of the CJN.

    The 88th meeting was to hold on January 15.

    But the NJC’s Director of Information issued a notice of postponement.

    The notice said:  ”Sir/Ma, I am directed by The Honorable, The Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, Hon. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, GCON to inform you that the 88th Meeting of the Council slated for Tuesday 15th, January, 2019 has been postponed to a later date to be communicated to you.

    “Any inconvenience this might cause you is highly regretted. Please, accept the assurances of the high.

    A government source said: “The Federal Government will submit a petition and heaps of evidence against the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen next week.

    “When the NJC takes its decision, the law will then run its full course on Onnoghen. Nigerians will then have the opportunity to have the details of the allegations of corruption against His Lordship, Hon. Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen, GCON.”

    “There was an ambush somewhere to block the wheel of justice by preventing the NJC from sitting. No responsible government will allow that,” the source added.

    As at press time, there were indications that the Federal Government may still submit a petition and evidence against Justice Onnoghen to the National Judicial Council (NJC).”

    The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open petition to the Next-In-Rank to the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Acting CJN Justice Tanko Mohammed, urging the NJC “to immediately take over from the Code of Conduct Tribunal the case of Onnoghen”.

    A statement by SERAP Senior Legal Adviser, Ms Bamisope Adeyanju said it had asked NJC to set up a committee to “investigate the allegations of breach of constitutional asset declaration requirements against him.”

    The organisation also urged the NJC to “ask Justice Onnoghen to step aside from his role as Chief Justice, pending the outcome of your investigation into the allegations against him.”

    “Also, if following your investigation, the allegations against Justice Onnoghen are established, the NJC should refer the case to appropriate anti-corruption bodies for prosecution. Similarly, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammed should recuse himself from the process, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.”

    The organisation asked the NJC to “consider the issue of appointment of Justice Muhammed with a view to ensuring strict compliance with constitutional provisions. The NJC should take the recommended action within five days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will take appropriate legal action to compel the NJC to take action on the case.”

    The petition said: “The urgent intervention by the NJC would remove the allegations against Justice Onnoghen from the vicissitudes of political controversy, and a clear and present danger to the independence and authority of the judiciary. It would also help to reverse the country’s increasing movement toward anarchy or despotism.”

    ”It is in time like this that the NJC must be most vigilant and alive to its constitutional duties, if it is not to permit a diminution of our treasured constitutional rights.”

    A copy of the petition was sent to Mr. Diego García-Sayán, UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers.

    It added:  ”Neither knee-jerk reactions by politicians nor abuse of the legal and judicial process by the government and some senior lawyers would be acceptable to break the constitutional logjam. The NJC ought to be concerned with the gravity of allegations against Justice Onnoghen.”

    “This matter has inevitably thrown our country into a judicial-cum-constitutional crisis which, if not urgently addressed would lead to political crisis that would seriously put at risk Nigeria’s fledgling democracy, consequently exacerbating the declining respect for human rights at all levels of government.”

    “The NJC should not and cannot stand-by while the authority and independence of the judiciary are diminished to the point at which the citizens lose confidence and trust in its ability to render justice to those in need.”

    “SERAP is concerned that the politicisation of our judiciary poses the greatest threat to the independence of the judiciary, to Nigeria’s fledgling democracy and would”, if not urgently addressed lead to denial of access to justice to the most marginalised and vulnerable section of the population.”

    “The politicisation of the judiciary by politicians would endanger Nigerians’ fundamental human rights and the country’s international human rights obligations, and consequently, the fundamental principles of our constitutional democracy.”

    “It is the responsibility of the NJC to ensure the preservation of our constitutional values and to prevent the politicization of the judiciary and politicians from running roughshod over sacred judicial functions, and consequently, the rights of citizens.”

    “Nigerians deserve a judiciary capable of serving as essential bulwark of constitutional government, a constant guardian of the rule of law, and owing fidelity to no person or party. Unless the NJC acts as requested, the mandates, ability and authority of the judiciary to act as a check on the political branches of government and to protect citizens’ human rights would be drastically curtailed.”

    “The allegation that Justice Onnoghen failed to declare his assets as required by the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 (as amended) and the arbitrary response by the Federal Government have thrown our judiciary into a crisis, with politicians seemingly taking full advantage of the crisis, resulting in the politicisation of the judiciary.”

    SERAP expressed concerns over the politicisation of the allegations against Justice Onnoghen.

    A statement by SERAP Senior Legal Adviser, Ms Bamisope Adeyanju, said: “Many politicians have failed to consider the matter through a constitutional lens and have in fact made statements that may be considered prejudicial to the cause of justice, the interests of the judiciary and Nigeria.”

    “As the Senate prepares to sit to discuss the matter, the situation is likely to be even more politicized, especially at the time of election when politicians jostle for position, power, and relevance. Any intervention by the Senate is likely to be politically motivated and would not satisfactorily break the logjam.”

    “Many Nigerians would see the suspension of Justice Onnoghen as outright intimidation of the judiciary in the hope of making it more deferential to certain politicians, as judges prepare to hear flood of election petitions that are expected to follow the general elections in February and March 2019.”

    “Suspending the Chief Justice of Nigeria by an ex parte order obtained via an apparently flawed legal and judicial process is an absurdity too gross to be allowed to stand. It suggests the constitution is no longer the supreme law of the land.”

    “Furthermore, SERAP is concerned that the allegations of violation of asset declaration provisions by Justice Onnoghen have created a palpable and rising distrust of the judiciary by the citizens, a distrust that may be exacerbated by the politicization of the judiciary by politicians across party lines.”