NBA, Agbakoba, Ozekhome, Ashiekaa , Ananaba Fault AGF’s Order

The NBA has condemned Malami for the freezing of Onnoghen’s bank
accounts without the backing of a court order, saying it is “a
complete abuse.”

The NBA President, Mr Paul Usoro (SAN), who said the NBA was
going to issue a comprehensive response to the development,
expressed this view to one of our correspondents in a telephone
chat on Wednesday.

He said, “I am not aware that the AGF has gone to court to
obtain a court order for the freezing of the account of the CJN. If
he has not obtained the court order permitting him to do it, then
it is wrong and it is a complete abuse.”

Meanwhile, a former NBA President, Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Mike
Ozekhome (SAN) and Chief Edward Ashiekaa (SAN) have faulted the
AGF’s directive that the CJN’s accounts be frozen.

Agbakoba, speaking with one of our correspondents on Wednesday,
said the AGF could not validly rely on the Presidential Executive
Order 6 because the charges the CJN was being tried for were about
false assets declaration and not corruption.

He said, “It is not proper for the AGF to issue those directives
because he is not being tried on corruption charges. He was charged
with false declaration of assets.

“So, for me the AGF has exceeded his power to issue those
directives. So I expect that lawyers, of course, will challenge it.
The AGF cannot do that.”

In his reaction, Ozekhome said with the AGF’s directive, the
nation was heading towards full-blown dictatorship.

He said, “They showed their clear intentions when they filed
simultaneously a motion that he should excuse himself as the CJN.
Somehow, the plan backfired on the government because of the
unanimous public uproar and rejection that greeted it and the
tactical move of Onnoghen’s lawyers who refused him appearing
physically in court.”

Speaking in the same vein, Ashiekaa noted that the Federal
Government’s action was politically motivated.

“You cannot separate what is happening at the CCT from the issue
of the freezing of the CJN’s accounts by the AGF. There were claims
that the President wasn’t aware. How on earth can you separate
these two issues? The order to freeze the accounts was from the AGF
who is a SAN and who was supposed to know better.

“He wants to drag the image of the judiciary through the mud
because of politics. The judiciary, which is insulated from
partisan politics, is now being dragged through the mud,” he
added.

Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Paul Ananaba, also faulted
the AGF’s directive on the basis that it was not backed by a court
order.

He said, “If it is true, it is unfortunate and it is not
acceptable. This is because before you freeze somebody’s account,
you have to obtain a court order. Is there any order of court? You
cannot just freeze an ordinary citizen’s account let alone that of
the CJN. He has not even been arraigned.

“He is presumed innocent. Why will you freeze the account of a
person that is presumed innocent? And having regard that the
Federal High Court has issued an order that he should not be
arraigned, why won’t you allow the matter to take its full course.
If you want to freeze his account, why won’t an application be made
and the order made. It is a dangerous trend.”

Also, 1st National Spokesperson, CUPP, Ugochinyere has described
the development as another plot by the government of the All
Progressives Congress to harm Onnoghen “for refusing to compromise
the composition of the post-2019 election Supreme Court Appeal
Tribunal.”

Ugochinyere further alleged that efforts to also make Onnoghen
compose Supreme Court Appeal Tribunal for the governorship
elections in Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Lagos, Benue, Imo, Kwara,
Plateau, Kaduna, Abia and Sokoto states with their preferred
choices of judges did not succeed.

He added, “The current ordeal of the Honourable CJN will not end
soon. He is up against people who are desperate and who do not care
if the engine of state grinds to a halt. They have taken this
dastardly attack to a new low by freezing all the family assets of
the CJN.”