CCT Versus CJN: Nigeria’s Judiciary Has Risen To The Occasion In A Battle To Preserve Its Independence And Inviolability (By Ibrahim W. Idowu Esq)

(By Ibrahim W. Idowu Esq)

Nigeria’s Legal Profession is under siege. It had started with
an assault against the soul of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),
to clear the path for the present assault on the judiciary. Then,
this unprecedented attempt to desecrate the temple of Justice and
pocket the third arm of government.

But, it is a miscalculated assault. An ill-advised move and a
desperate misfiring. The judiciary is not powerless!! It won’t take
it lying low. Constitutional Democracy, Rule of Law and Separation
of Powers must be preserved by all means reasonably possible.

Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado of the National Industrial Court, Abuja
on 14 January 2019 ordered as follows: ”In view of the imminent
danger of having the res in this suit being destroyed before the
hearing of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction and
the affidavit evidence before the court, I am satisfied that the
applicant in this case has made out a case for the court’s
intervention to prevent and preserve the res from dissipation.

His Lordship therefore made the following orders, among others:
(1) An order of interim injunction restraining the 1st, 2nd 3rd and
6th defendants from further proceeding with hearing of change No.
CCT/ABJ/01/19, between The Federal Republic of Nigeria v. Justice
Onnoghen Nkanu Walter Samuel pending the hearing and determination
of the Motion on Notice for Interlocutory injunction. (2) An order
of interim injunction restraining the defendants in this suit,
either by themselves, their privies, servants, agents, assigns or
howsoever described from forcing the HonourableJustice
OnnoghenNkanu Walter Samuel, from vacating his office as Chief
Justice of Nigeria, pending the hearing and determination of the
motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.”

(See just-in-interim-injunction-industrial-court-restrains-agf-chairman-cct-others-from-prosecuting-cjn-pending-determination-of-motion-on-notice/^[1]).
Earlier today a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja and presided
over by Hon Justice Maha had in two separate suits pending before
it, made similar orders restraining the CCT, AGF, IGP, and NJC from
proceeding against the CJN, pending the hearing and determinationof
the two suits.

While the ex parte application in the suit FHC/ABJ/CS/27/2019
was moved by Mr. R.A Lawal-Rabana (SAN), before Justice Maha on
Monday, the ex parte application filed in the suit marked
FHC/ABJ/CS/28/2019 ‎was moved by Mr. Jeph Njikonye. (See
https://punchng.com/breaking-court-stops-cjn-onnoghens-planned-arraignment/).
With the above, it’s obvious that the battle to save the soul of
Nigeria’s hallowed temple of justice has begun. The judiciary has
neither gun nor knife nor force of arms. But what it has, it has
begun to give. When you take battle to a man’s house, you won’t
expect him to fold his arms and get eaten and swallowed.
Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures.
Constitutional democracy, rule of law and preservation of
separation of powers are at the root of all these.

If the judiciary is subdued and silenced, the Bar and the Bench
pocketed, full blown autocracy and unbridled totalitarianism would
have a free reign. And the rights, liberty and lives of citizen
would be in jeopardy, leading to ‘might is right’ and ‘survival of
the fittest’ which is exemplifies a disorderly, lawless state
reminiscent of rule by Thomas Hobbes’ Leviathan whose whims and
caprices, and nothing more or less, is law. Issues that bother on
failure to fulfill MANDATORY CONDITIONS PRECEDENT go to root of the
court’s jurisdiction and do not take into account the merit of the
substantive suit, allegations or charge. That is the only relevant
question here. Those who dwell on the merit or otherwise when the
due-process hurdle has not been crossed, only waste their time.

As Mr. Godson Ugochukwu, legal practitioner and prolific writer,
wrote earlier on Monday (14/01/2019), ”The umbrage against the
criminal allegations and proposed arraignment of the CJN is against
the shameless violation of due process…. Due process, on the totem
pole of the administration of justice, ranks higher than the merits
of the case.

This is because due process is the sole safeguard of the
integrity of the judicial process. Due process forbids the
interrogation of the purpose for which justice is dispensed.

Let the judge hate you or love you, it matters not if the
justice dispensed passes the due process test.” (see
between-truth-and-due-process-nigerian-lawyers-must-rise-to-stare-down-this-gorgon-of-odoriferous-abuse-of-power-by-godson-ugochukwu^[2]/)

Ibrahim W. Idowu Esq writes