…A Coup Against Democracy, and an act of impunity, Says Saraki. A ‘coup’ says NBA
… We stand by the President, Says APC
… It cannot stand, Say South-south, mMddle-belt, Igbo Leaders
Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki The Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, leaders of the South- South, Ohaneze Ndi-Igbo, Afenifere, the Peoples Democracy of Nigeria, PDP have condemned the suspension of the Chief Justice of the Federal by President Muhammadu Buhari and described the suspension as a ‘coup against democracy’
President Muhammadu Buhari had suspended the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, and immediately swore-in Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed in acting capacity, pending the completion of his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Saraki, in a statement personally signed by him stated that the suspension was another act of desperation by President Buhari. He noted that by the suspension of the CJN, Buhari has acted outside the provision of the constitution, has exercised the powers, which he does not have and that this action amounted to gross misconduct.
“This is an action aimed at undermining the nation’s judiciary, subverting the constitution, intimidating judges of all the courts of record, and creating uncertainty in the electoral process, thereby laying the foundation for influencing the outcome of litigations that might arise from next month’s elections.
“There are already the general belief that this hasty action was taken to pre-empt the already scheduled inauguration of election petition tribunals by Hon. Justice Onoghen and to destroy national institutions that are perceived to be un co-operative in his bid to manipulate the electoral process leading to next month’s general elections.
“By unilaterally suspending the CJN without following the provision of the constitution, President Buhari has taken an action which amounted to gross misconduct. He has simply sent a dangerous signal to the entire world that Nigeria is no longer a democratic nation and that we have returned to the old, jaded era of military dictatorship .
“Our constitution makes no provision for suspension of the nation’s highest judicial officer. The constitution provides a clear process for removal of the CJN and specify the roles of the three arms of government, beginning from the National Judicial Council (NJC), the National Assembly and lastly, the Presidency, have different roles to play in that process. There is no condition under which the President can usurp the powers of other arms of government. I do not know where the President and his advisers got this idea of suspending the CJN on the so-called order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal but this is novel, disingenuous and alien to our laws.
“The President and his team must have seen this so-called suspension as a short-cut to getting Hon. Justice Onnoghen out of the way since the appellate court has eventually stopped the CCT from continuing with the trial of the CJN. It is strange that President Buhari is claiming to be taking orders from a Tribunal which has been ordered by a superior court to halt all actions on the trial.
“With this action, President Buhari has initiated a process the consequence of which nobody can predict. They have precipitated a constitutional crisis.
“At this point, all democratic institutions in the country, the international community and democrats across the world should rise against this blatant act of impunity. We should jointly condemn this retrogressive, uncivilized and despotic measure”, Saraki stated.
He however called on President Buhari to immediately reverse this decision and allow the due process of law to take its natural course in determining the guilt or otherwise as well as the suitability of Hon. Justice Onnoghen to continue as the head of the nation’s judiciary.
The Nigerian Bar Association called the suspension a ’coup’, and called on the president to reverse the suspension.
The PDP in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, on Friday in Abuja, said that the PDP rejected the attempts by Buhari to foist an illegal Chief Justice on the country.
Ologbondiyan who is also the Director, Media and Publicity, PDP Presidential Campaign Organization (PPCO) said that the PDP firmly held that such impunity could not stand, as Nigeria is a nation governed by law.
He called on the National Assembly to immediately reconvene and proceed with legislative actions against President Buhari over the suspension.
“There can be no two Chief Justices of Nigeria. Our constitution is clear on how a Chief Justice is appointed and removed, as such does not lie on the prerogative of the President.
“As such, we urge all Nigerians and the international community to recognize only Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“Nigeria is a democratic state governed by the constitution and the law and Nigerians will never allow anybody to appropriate rulership to himself outside the dictates of the law,” Ologbondiyan said.
Atiku said: “The purported suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari, is an anti democratic act which I reject in its entirely and call on Justice Onnoghen and the judiciary to resist with every legal and constitutional means that they can muster.
“This brazen dictatorial act is the latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard earned democracy by those who dined with anti democratic forces, and is symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near.
He said the case involving the legality or otherwise of the charges against Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is in court, stating that, “ So far, the judiciary has ruled in Justice Onnoghen’s favour. So, why not allow the court to adjudicate on the matter? What is the pressing urgency?”
For the The Atiku-Agbaje Media Engagement Network (AAMEN) the alleged sacking of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari is an act of impunity and a coup d’etat against the Judiciary that was capable of derailing the nation’s peace and democracy.
“This is an evil day in Nigeria. What has happened clearly is a coup and an unveiled scheme to emasculate the Judiciary and replace upright men by pawns and yes-men who would do the bidding of the ruling party in the coming elections and afterwards,” AAMEN said. “This plot should be robustly resisted by people of goodwill.”
In a press statement Friday by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Felix Oboagwina, AAMEN called on lawyers and judges to protect the Judiciary by immediately commencing a boycott of the courts.
In addition, the group called for a stern pronouncement by the National Assembly against what it described as a dangerous descent into tyranny.
AAMEN declared: “With the Fifth Citizen, Justice Walter Onnoghen, so summarily dismissed, Nigeria has begun a dangerous slide into tyranny. If the Archbishop of the Temple of Justice can be so easily and so flimsily shredded, then where lies the hope of the common man?”
It described the replacement of Onnoghen by Justice Tanko Mohammed as blatantly faulty and unconstitutional, AAMEN said it contradicted the spirit and letter of the appointment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria as enunciated in the 1999 Constitution.
AAMEN pointed out that Section 231(1) and (3) stipulated that: “The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Justice of Nigeria shall be made by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of such appointment by the Senate…. 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 has resumed those functions, the President shall appoint the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court to perform those functions.”
“Clearly, the office is neither vacant nor Justice Onnoghen incapable of running the office,” AAMEN submitted, adding, “A vehicle supposed to run on three wheels is now running on just one wheel. It is bound to collapse.”
Leaders of the South-south, the Middle- Belt, Ohaneaze Ndi- Igbo, Pan Niger Delta Forum, PANDEF, and Afenifere said in a statement that the action of the President amounts to high level of desperation on the part of the government and morbid desire to foist the rule of thumb, adding that the President has no power to unilaterally suspend the CJN. The statement was signed by former Federal Commissioner for Information and South South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark;Chief Ayo Adebanjo, South West; Chief John Nwodo, South East and Dr Pogu Bitrus for Midddle Belt.
“An emergency meeting of the Forum holds shortly on this total aberration. We call on all Nigerians to wake up to the reality that our democracy is now under threat and use all constitutional means to defend it. We must not surrender to this authoritarian rule .” the group said.
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, however supported the suspension.
