Dates on the court order for the suspension of Walter Onnoghen exposes the fact that the action was predetermined just as Nigerians worry that Tanko Muhammed, new acting chief justice of Nigeria, may have performed duties without first declaring his asset as stipulated in section 290 of the 1999 Constitution

THE last is yet to be heard about the suspension of Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of Nigeria, CJN, going by revelations by Professor Chidi Odinkalu in his twitter handle that the plot to remove him is buried in the dates.

According to Odinkalu who is the former chairman of the Nigeria Human Rights Commission, the cabal who planned the suspension worked to pre-determined outcome.

In the tweets, Odinkalu wrote that: “The gist of the story and clear intent to work to pre-determined outcome in the CJN Onnoghen matter is buried in dates. The petition against CJN Onnoghen was dated 7th January. It was actually stamped into the office of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on 9th January.

“On the same day, 9th January, according to the ex-parte order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), which only became public yesterday, after the purported suspension of CJN Onnoghen, the Buhari administration filed a petition with the CCT for his removal.

“It’s quite clear that there was no time between the receipt of the petition by the CCB & the referral to the CCT. Under the law, the obligation to verify claims made in asset declaration forms belongs exclusively to the CCB. This cld not have bn done before charges were filed.

“Curiously, the application to remove Onnoghen dated 9th January, predates the filing of the charges against him, which did not happen until over 24 hours later on 10th January.

“When a motion is filed in a court or tribunal, it bears the name of the lawyer or person filing it. The motion has to be formally moved or argued on a date fixed by the court. In this case of Onnoghen, the motion for his removal bears no name & the order doesn’t say who moved it.

“So, to sum things up, Nigeria’s President Buhari, who has no recent memory of having obeyed any court order, purports to procure the removal of the CJN based on a petition that was not investigated, a charge that was not prosecuted & an ex-parte application that was not moved.”

Apart from the Odinkalu’s tweets, there is another legal issue rearing its ugly head about the newly sworn in chief justice of Nigeria. President Muhammadu Buhari  swore-in Tanko Muhammadu, acting CJN on Friday, January 25, and he commenced work immediately.

Judiciary watchers are asking whether Muhammadu had disposed to an affidavit at CCB between Friday and Saturday declaring his assets?. Has he complied with section 290 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended)?

The 290 provides thus:- that “(1) A person appointed to any judicial office shall not begin to perform the functions of that office until he has declared his assets and liabilities as prescribed under this Constitution and has subsequently taken and subscribed the Oath of Allegiance and the Judicial Oath prescribed in the seventh Schedule to this Constitution.”

– Jan. 27, 2019 @ 8:29 GMT |