Onnoghen: NBA Shuts Down Courts In Ebonyi

The Ebonyi State Chapter of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA)
Tuesday said it has shut down the operations of all courts in the
State for two days following the directive issued by its National
Executive Council (NEC).

The directive was issued in protest to the suspension of the
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen by
President Muhammadu Buhari based on a order by the Code of Conduct
Tribunal.

Addressing a press conference in Abakaliki, the Chairman of NBA,
Abakaliki Branch, Barrister Festus Nweke, who described the action
taken against Onnoghen as a full blown invitation to anarchy, added
that the Federal Government was not the appropriate body to
discipline a judicial officer in the country.

“The situation is that lawyers have boycotted court sitting in
the state for two days as a way of registering our reservations for
the action taken against the CJN.

“None of the courts are opened. The action of the federal
government is an aberration of the law. The federal government is
not the appropriate body to punish a judicial officer. It is an
invitation to full blown anarchy if we allow it to stand. There are
established rules. Let the federal government follow the
established due process.

“NBA Abakaliki is in support of its NEC’s resolution. A lawless
society is not what we want. We sent our members to monitor Afikpo
and other places and I can tell you that in Ebonyi, it total shut
down. Not even customary courts sat today.”