* Flays The Bar And Bench, Says 12 Lawyers In Fed Cabinet
Didn’t disuade Buhari From The Illegal Suspension
* Call onAGF Malami to withdraw Charge against
CJN”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a prominent human rights
activist, Femi Falana, SAN has not only blamed the bar and the
bench on the issue of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen,
but have also heaped the blame on the Senior Advocates and lawyers
in the cabinet of the Buhari.
The senior advocate, while pointing out the discrepancies in the
controversial order, called on the Bar and the Bench to challenge
the illegal suspension and the fascism gradually creeping on the
nation.
Lawyers serving in Buhari’s cabinet, particularly the three
senior advocates, were also not spared by the leading human rights
advocate, who shamed them, without naming them.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the Minister of Power, Works and
Housing and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of
Justice, Abubakar Malami are all Silks.
He insisted that it was settled law that the National Judicial
Council (NJC) must first investigate misconduct allegations against
serving judicial officers, tagging Buhari’s action, a desecration
of the judiciary that must not be allowed to stand.
According to Falana in the statement he issued yesterday; “I
have had cause to call on the Attorney-General of the Federation,
Mr Abubakar Malami SAN to withdraw the charge of false declaration
of assets filed against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Walter Onnoghen at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
“The call was without prejudice to the merit of the serious
allegations levelled against the Chief Justice. In line with
decided judicial authorities, I had wanted the National Judicial
Council to investigate the allegations. Unfortunately, the 88th
statutory meeting of the National Judicial Council scheduled to
hold on January 15, 2019, which could have deliberated on the
matter and take an informed position was postponed indefinitely on
the directive of the embattled Chief Justice.
“As the battle shifted to the courts, both the Judiciary and the
Executive were shopping for court orders from the Federal High
Court, the National Industrial Court, the Code of Conduct Tribunal
and the Court of Appeal. In the process, settled principles of law
were sacrificed for the exigency of the moment. Thus, at the 15th
annual Gani Fawehinmi lecture which held in Lagos on January 15
2019, I was compelled to warn against the dangerous trend.
“Regrettably, the warning fell on deaf ears. Curiously, in an
act of brazen impunity, the Executive procured an ex parte order
from the Code of Conduct Tribunal for the immediate suspension of
the Chief Justice from office. In his purported compliance with the
ex parte order, President Mohammadu Buhari has announced the
suspension of Justice Onnoghen as the Chief Justice and appointed
Justice Tanko Mohammad as the Acting Chief Justice.
“It is unfortunate that the Bar and the Bench have played into
the hands of the sponsors of incipient fascism in the country.
“For reasons best known to them, the stakeholders in the legal
profession stood by and allowed the Office of the Chief Justice to
be completely desecrated. It is intriguing that the 12 lawyers
including three Senior Advocates of Nigeria in the federal cabinet
did not deem it fit to dissuade President Buhari from carrying out
the illegal suspension of the Chief Justice on the basis of an ex
parte order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
” In particular, they ought to have reminded the President of
the compulsory retirement of Justice Stanley Nnaji and Justice
Wilson Egbo-Egbo for issuing illegal ex parte orders for the
removal of Dr Chris Ngige as Governor of Anambra State. It is sad
to recall that it was the federal government superintended by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo that instigated the illegal
removal of the governor at the material time.
“However, notwithstanding the inauguration of Justice Tanko
Mohammad as the Acting Chief Justice, the legal profession should
not hesitate to review the entire Onnoghen saga in the interest of
the nation’s judiciary. In Elelu-Habeeb v AGF (2012) 40 WRN 1, the
Supreme Court held that by virtue of section 292 of the
Constitution the heads of the judicial arms of the state and
federal governments in the country cannot be removed without a
prior investigation conducted by the NJC.
” Consequently, the apex court set aside the purported removal
of the appellant as the Chief judge of Kwara State upon an address
forwarded to the house of assembly by former Governor Bukola
Saraki. Therefore, the National Judicial Council should convene and
constitute a committee to investigate the allegations levelled
against the Chief Justice and make appropriate recommendation to
the relevant authorities.
“Meanwhile, the legal team of the Chief Justice should proceed
to challenge his suspension from office either at the Code of
Conduct Tribunal or the Court of Appeal. Despite the gravity of the
allegations levelled against the Chief Justice the illegality of
the suspension should not be allowed to stand.
“The ex parte order is a suspect document as the motion ex parte
on which it was predicated was allegedly filed on January 9, 2019,
while the substantive charge against the Chief Justice was filed at
the registry of the Code of Conduct Tribunal on January 11, 2019.
Furthermore, the counsel who argued the motion is not indicated in
the ex parte order.
“However, in view of President Buhari’s belated fidelity in the
rule of law, the federal government should comply with all valid
and subsisting orders of competent municipal and regional courts
made against the federal government.”