Onnoghen's Suspension: THE JUDICIARY RAPED ITSELF. CCT NEVER ORDERED SUSPENSION OF CJN
The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has removed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen and swore in the next in command, Justice Tanko Muhammed as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on Friday.
The President, during the swearing-in of the acting CJN, said he was served an order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal calling for the suspension of Onnoghen from office pending the final determination of his false assets declaration case before the tribunal.
This divaviva111.com believe was not the truth as we have carefully read through the order purportedly acted upon by the president Code of Conduct Tribunal.
A Court order is an order which must be obeyed at the time being whether it was gotten illegally or unconstitutionally is for the Superior courts to review.
Some lawyers all over the country have put themselves into confusion in their various interpretation of the order thereby confusing the masses along side.
We want to narrow it to the Order given. Let us leave the Constitution aside for now, The question is, in the words of the order granted by the CCT, there is no where the Tribunal directed the president to suspend or remove the CJN. The president actually lied when he stated publicly that he was acting on the directive of the order of the Tribunal.
As we can see from the order, the Tribunal directed the Defendant/Respondent to step aside and never directed the president to suspend the CJN. The action of the president is something that is unfathomable and one we couldn’t have been imagined. Does the CJN have the right under our laws to challenge that order? Yes, he has the right. Neither the president nor the Tribunal has the power to remove the CJN without following the prescribed manner of removal as provided for by the 1999 Constitution as amended, which states thus
“(1) A judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement except in the following circumstances – (a) in the case of – (i) Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate. .
See a clearer content of the order;
“An Interim Order of the Honourable Tribunal directing the Defendant/Respondent to step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chairman of the National Judicial Council over an allegation of the Contravening the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP C15 Laws of the Federation 2004 pending the determination of the Motion on Notice dated 10th Day of January 2019.
If you have been following this writeup objectively, let us take a look at the second part of the order which reads;
The second reads thus;
''That the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall take all necessary measure to swear in the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman National Judicial Council in order to prevent a vacuum in the judicial arm of government pending the determination of the motion on notice''
Now the Constitution comes in. Did the President take all necessary measure to swear in the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria? Was the provision of section 292 of the 1999 Constitution which provided for the removal of the CJN adhered to?
Instead, what the president did was to give 18 more interpretations of the purported directive of the Tribunal which was not on the order at all; See the president's statement below and react accordingly to each reasons like we have tried to do.
ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, ON THE SUSPENSION OF HONOURABLE JUSTICE WALTER NKANU SAMUEL ONNOGHEN AS CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA AND SWEARING IN OF ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE, 25TH JANUARY 2019
Fellow Nigerians,
A short while ago, I was served with an Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal issued on Wednesday 23rd January 2019, directing the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Justice Walter Nkanu Samuel Onnoghen from office pending final determination of the cases against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal and several other fora relating to his alleged breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
FALSE. THE ORDER NEVER DIRECTED THE SUSPENSION OF THE CJN. EITHER BUHARI LIED TO NIGERIANS OR HIS LAWYERS GAVE HIM A TOTAL DIFFERENT INTERPRETATION OF THE ORDER.
2. The nation has been gripped by the tragic realities of no less a personality than the Chief Justice of Nigeria himself becoming the accused person in a corruption trial since details of the petition against him by a Civil Society Organization first became public about a fortnight ago.
YOU CANNOT BE A JUDGE IN YOUR OWN CASE. LET THE COURTS FIND HIM GUILTY
3. Although the allegations in the petition are grievous enough in themselves, the security agencies have since then traced other suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law.
EVERYONE IS PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
4. Perhaps more worrisome is the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s own written admission to the charges that he indeed failed to follow the spirit and letter of the law in declaring his assets, citing ’’mistake’’ and “forgetfulness’’ which are totally unknown to our laws as defences in the circumstances of his case.
THAT LETTER SERVE AS A DEFENCE FOR HIM. HE KNEW BETTER.
5. One expected that with his moral authority so wounded, by these serious charges of corruption, more so by his own written admission, Mr. Justice Walter Onnoghen would have acted swiftly to spare our Judicial Arm further disrepute by removing himself from superintending over it while his trial lasted.
UNFORTUNATELY SOME NIGERIAN LAWYERS ARE ONLY AFTER THEIR BELLE AND HAS REFUSED TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH OF WHAT HIS LETTER IMPLIED. AND WHAT ABOUT YOU? DID YOU STEP DOWN AS THE PRESIDENT OF NIGERIA OVER FAKE WAEC RESULT?
while the constitution provides what is required for the CJN to be removed, it was mute on his suspension from office.
6. Unfortunately, he has not done so. Instead, the nation has been treated to the sordid spectacle of a judicial game of wits in which the Chief Justice of Nigeria and his legal team have made nonsense of the efforts of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to hear the allegation on merit and conclude the trial as quickly as possible considering the nature of the times in which we live.
NO SIR, IT IS RATHER YOUR OWN LEGAL TEAM WHO HAVE RAPED THE JUDICIARY WITH YOUR OWN D**K. THEY OBVIOUSLY KNEW YOU WOULD BE GULLIBLE
Whether deliberately or inadvertently, we have all seen the full weight of the Chief Justice of Nigeria descend on the tender head of one of the organs of justice under his control. There is simply no way the officers of that court, from the Chairman to the bailiffs, can pretend to be unaffected by the influence of the leader of the Judiciary.
8. Not only the trial court, but others have been put on the spot. Practically every other day since his trial commenced, the nation has witnessed various courts granting orders and counter-orders in favour of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, all of them characterised by an unholy alacrity between the time of filing, hearing and delivery of judgment in same.
9. The real effect has been a stalling of the trial of Justice Onnoghen, helped along by lawyers who insist that these orders, whether right or wrong are technically valid, and must be obeyed till an appellate Court says otherwise. No doubt, that it is the proper interpretation, but is it the right disposition for our nation?
10. Nigeria is a constitutional democracy and no one must be, or be seen to be, above the law. Unfortunately, the drama around the trial of the Chief Justice of Nigeria has challenged that pillar of justice in the perception of the ordinary man on the street. For it is certain that no ordinary Nigerian can get the swift and special treatment Justice Onnoghen has enjoyed from his subordinates and privies in our Judicature.
W“(1) A judicial officer shall not be removed from his office or appointment before his age of retirement except in the following circumstances – (a) in the case of – (i) Chief Justice of Nigeria, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and President, Customary Court of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate.
11. In the midst of all these distracting events, the essential question of whether the accused CJN actually has a case to answer has been lost in the squabble over the form and nature of his trial. This should not be so.
12. If Justice cannot be done and clearly seen to be done, society itself is at risk of the most unimaginable chaos. As a Government, we cannot stand by wailing and wringing our hands helplessly but give our full backing and support to those brave elements within the Judiciary who act forthrightly, irrespective of who is involved.
13. As you are all aware, the fight against corruption is one of the tripod of policies promised to Nigerians by this administration. Needless to say that it is an existential Policy which must be given adequate attention and commitment by all the three arms of government. The efforts of the Executive will amount to nothing without the cooperation of the Legislature and especially the Judiciary.
14. It is no secret that this government is dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially set free, persons accused of the most dire acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities, and after quite a number of them have been convicted by the trial and appellate courts.
15. Since there is nothing the Executive Arm can do after the apex court of the land has spoken on any matter, several of these individuals walk free among us today, enjoying what are clearly the proceeds of the corruption which for so long has defeated the efforts of this nation to develop and prosper.
16. It is against this background that I have received the Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal directing me to suspend the Chief Justice pending final determination of the cases against him. It also explains why I am not only complying immediately, but with some degree of relief for the battered sensibilities of ordinary Nigerians whose patience must have become severely over-taxed by these anomalies.
17. In line with this administration’s avowed respect for the Rule of Law, I have wholeheartedly obeyed the Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal dated 23rd January 2019.
18. Accordingly, I hereby suspend the Honourable Mr. Justice Walter Nkanu Samuel Onnoghen, GCON as the Chief Justice of Nigeria pending final determination of the case against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
19. In further compliance with the same Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, I hereby invite Honourable Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed JSC, being the next most Senior Justice in the Supreme Court, to come forward to take the Judicial Oath as Chief Justice of Nigeria in an Acting Capacity.
AND jUSTICE TANKO ACCEPTED WITHOUT READING THE ORDER? THE JUDICIARY IN MY VIEW RAPED ITSELF NOT THE EXECUTIVE ARM.
20. Fellow Nigerians, we can only stand a chance to win the fight against corruption, and position our dear nation for accelerated development when we stand together to contend against it.
Thank you and may God bless our country.
I leave you all to judge for yourselves as i am too shocked to further respond to the above. LMAO. Diva
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