Onnoghen: Decision to suspend, remove judge should be by independent authority —UN

The United Nations has condemned the suspension of Nigeria’s
chief justice by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying it broke
international human rights standards on independence of the
judiciary and the separation of powers.

“International human rights standards provide that judges may be
dismissed only on serious grounds of misconduct or incompetence,”
said Diego Garcia-Sayan, the U.N. special rapporteur on the
independence of judges and lawyers.

Buhari, who was a military ruler in the 1980s and was voted into
office in 2015, is hoping to win a new term in a presidential
election scheduled to take place on Saturday.

”Any decision to suspend or remove a judge from
office should be fair and should be taken by an independent
authority such as a judicial council or a court”.

The chief justice could preside over any dispute over the
election result. Nigeria’s judiciary has helped resolve electoral
disputes in past votes, some of which have been marred by violence
and vote rigging.

“Any decision to suspend or remove a judge from office should be
fair and should be taken by an independent authority such as a
judicial council or a court.’‘

Garcia-Sayan, who is mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council
to investigate legal and judicial independence, said dismissing
judges without following legal procedures or offering a chance to
contest the decision was incompatible with the independence of the
judiciary.

Legal battles
Buhari suspended Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen on Jan. 25 following
an order by a tribunal on public officials’ conduct and replaced
him with Ibrahim Tanko Mohammad.

But four courts superior to the tribunal had already ordered a
stay of proceedings and the tribunal had previously said it lacked
jurisdiction over cases involving judicial officers, Garcia-Sayan
said.

The U.N. statement said some of the judges and the defence
lawyers involved in Onnoghen’s case had been subject to serious
threats, pressures and interference.