The Supreme Court of Nigeria
Friday struck out a motion filed by the Cross River State Government
challenging the suspension of Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The court declared that it lacked
jurisdiction to entertain the matter, and so dismissed the application.
Sequel to the controversial
suspension of Onnoghen in January by an order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal,
the Rivers State Government approached the Supreme Court with a request that
the apex court should invoke section 232 (1) of the constitution to assume
original jurisdiction on the matter.
The section provides that: “The
Supreme Court shall, to the exclusion of any other court, have original
jurisdiction in any dispute between the Federation and a State or between
States if and in so far as that dispute involves any question (whether of law
or fact) on which the existence or extent of a legal right depends.”
The implication of the above
provision in the eyes of the law is that where the Supreme Court assumes
original jurisdiction, a matter does not necessarily have to emerge from the
lower court before it can be treated by the apex court.
However, in a reaction, the
federal government was of the opinion that the section heavily relied upon by
the Cross River State Government only allows the Supreme Court to assume
original jurisdiction where the matter is between a particular state and
federal government.
The Supreme court said the matter
for which the instant application was brought does not involve a dispute
between the Cross River government and the federal government.
In its lead judgement as agreed
to by four judges, and agreed by Paul Galinje, the apex court agreed with the
legal position of the federal government that it lacked jurisdiction to
adjudicate on the matter.
It was on this premise that the
court upheld the objection raised by the Solicitor General of the Federation,
Dayo Apata, and in a verdict said that it would not delve into the merit of the
substantive application.
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