A frontline legal luminary, Femi
Falana, has reacted to the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN,
Walter Onnoghen, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The senior lawyer picked holes in
the exparte order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, relied upon by Buhari
to suspend Justice Onnoghen.
We reported yesterday
that President Buhari suspended Justice Onnoghen as the CJN and swore in
Justice Tanko Muhammad on acting capacity.
Falana, while pointing out
discrepancies in the controversial order, called on the Bar and the Bench to
challenge the illegal suspension and the fascism gradually creeping on the
nation.
He also lambasted lawyers serving
in Buhari’s cabinet, particularly the three senior advocates, although he did
not mention their names.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the
Minister of Power, Works and Housing and the Attorney General of the Federation
and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami are all learned silks.
In a statement he personally
signed on Saturday, Falana, said, “I have had cause to call on the
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami 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 Gani
Fawehinmi 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 Mohammadu Buhari has announced the suspension of Justice
Onnoghen as the Chief Justice and appointed Justice Tanko Mohammad as the
Acting Chief Justice.
“It is unfortunate that the Bar
and the Bench have played into the hands of the sponsors of incipient fascism
in the country
“For reasons best known to them,
the stakeholders in the legal profession stood by and allowed the Office of the
Chief Justice to be completely desecrated. It is intriguing that the 12 lawyers
including three Senior Advocates of Nigeria in the federal cabinet did not deem
it fit to dissuade President Buhari from carrying out the illegal suspension of
the Chief Justice on the basis of an ex parte order issued by the Code of
Conduct Tribunal.
” In particular, they ought to
have reminded the President of the compulsory retirement of Justice Stanley
Nnaji and Justice Wilson Egbo-Egbo for issuing illegal ex parte orders for the
removal of Dr Chris Ngige as Governor of Anambra State. It is sad to recall
that it was the federal government superintended by former President Olusegun
Obasanjo that instigated the illegal removal of the governor at the material
time.
“However, 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
Bukola Saraki. Therefore, the National Judicial Council should convene and
constitute a committee to investigate the allegations levelled 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.”
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