The emergency meeting of the
National Judicial Council (NJC) has ended.
The council has issued a
seven-day ultimatum to Walter Onnoghen, the suspended chief justice of Nigeria,
to respond to a petition filed against him by the office of the
attorney-general of the federation.
Ibrahim Muhammad, the acting CJN,
has also been given a seven-day ultimatum to respond to a petition against him
over an alleged breach of NJC rules.
The body also referred to the petition
written against Danladi Umar, the Code of Conduct Tribunal chairman, to the
Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
The council, therefore, said it would reconvene on February 11, 2019 to discuss further actions against the nation’s top two judicial officers.
Recall that President Muhammadu
Buhari had on Friday last week suspended Justice Onnoghen as CJN following an
order by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The suspension of Justice
Onnoghen has triggered criticisms from various quarters, including the
international community.
The suspended CJN is facing
charges of false assets declaration at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Now it is obvious how the order is being trampled upon by the executive. This is the proper thing the do.
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