The Chairman of the Presidential
Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay, has given
reasons the National Judicial Council, NJC, lacked the powers to try the
embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN Walter Onnoghen, SAN.
Sagay noted that the Code of
Conduct Bureau Act covers all public officers, including the CJN, adding that
where it finds an officer guilty of a breach of the Act, it can inflict
necessary punishment on the individual.
In a interview with New
Telegraph, Sagay, a renowned lawyer, pointed out that almost all Senior
Advocates of Nigeria who have argued that Onnoghen’s case shall be taken to the
NJC rather than to the CCT, can’t be serious.
He continued, “The NJC lacks
power to sit over the case of any judge that is accused of not declaring his
assets according to the provision of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
“If he is removed from office by
the NJC and he ceases to be a judicial officer as well as a public officer, can
he therefore be tried as a public officer before the Code of Conduct Tribunal?
“The answer is no, because he is
no longer a public officer. The extant provisions of the Constitution and the
Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act would be rendered nugatory, by a prior
NJC involvement.
“The CCB Act covers all public
officers including the CJN and where it finds an officer guilty of a breach of
the Act, it can inflict necessary punishment on the individual.
“After a perusal of the
application and evidence in support, and if satisfied with such evidence, the
tribunal shall cause the defendant to be brought before it on such a date and
such a time as it may direct.
“When the tribunal is ready to
commence trial, the defendant shall be brought before it and the tribunal shall
read or cause to be read to the defendant the substance of the complaint
against him and he shall be asked whether he is guilty of the offence or
offences as charged.
“Almost all Senior Advocates of
Nigeria (SANs), who have argued that even in a case involving the breach of the
Code of Conduct, for which the law has already made express provisions, that
the matter shall be taken to the NJC rather than to the CCT can’t be serious.
“They must obviously be speaking
tongue in cheek. Even a baby must realise that no one can get justice against
the Chief Justice of Nigeria at the NJC.
“The CJN is not just only the
Chairman of the NJC; he is also the appointor of 20 out of the NJC’s 23
members. The CJN is the NJC. Only a grossly ignorant man or an extremely
mischievous one could seriously suggest that a matter involving the CJN should
be brought before the NJC for adjudication.
“Therefore, the whole idea of
taking the present case to the NJC is a nonstarter because it would make the
CJN the Chief Judge of his own case; a clear violation, not only of the
Constitution, but also of a long standing common law principle coming all the
way from MAGNA CARTER in the year 1215.
“It should also be noted that in
addition to the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, the
Constitution itself expressly provides for the establishment of the Code of
Conduct Tribunal.
“(See 5th Schedule of the
Constitution, Part One Paragraph 15). In fact, the Constitution itself makes
the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act, part of itself by including it as a
schedule.
“Therefore, in dealing with the
scope and powers of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, we are dealing with a matter
that is provided for in the Constitution, not a mere Act of the National
Assembly.”
A round of applause to the vibrant prof. Sagay.
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