Stopping short of calling it a forgery, leading legal luminary, Femi Falana, on Saturday, picked holes in the exparte order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, relied on by President Muhammadu Buhari, to suspend the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
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.
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“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 (2012) 1 WRN 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.”
First time Femi Falana speaking the truth since the inception of this government
NIGERIA CANNOT HAVE 2 CJNs
0. Buhari and his cabal have systematically and strategically destroyed nigeria’s democracy and it’s democratic institutions as recognized by our Constitution. Buhari has destroyed the fabric of our nation.
Nigeria will soon be no more if we allow Buhari to escape with this one too.
1. Suspension of onnoghen is illegal, unconstitutional, unapproved, dictatorial and a desperation to cling to power in 2019.
2. The judiciary is an arm of the governemnt, just like the Senate and the house of reps. If Buhari by prescription cannot remove or suspend the Senate president (though he attempted and failed, thanks to saraki’s ingenuity), cannot remove or suspend the speaker house of reps, why should it then be legal to remove CJN without obeying the rule of law and following due process?
3. Buhari was elected by the nigerian people. Buhari must be made to respect our democratic institutions. This is not a military regime. Buhari must respect our senate, house of reps and our judiciary. Buhari is killing our democracy and we are now sliding Into dictatorship. This cannot be tolerated anymore.
4. Buhari is NOT the constitution of Nigeria.
5. The constitution of Nigeria Is supreme and buhari Is not above the constitution of nigeria. The people of Nigeria elected Buhari as president and the constitution of Nigeria made him president. Buhari cannot ignore the constitution which made him president today.
6. We cannot have 2 CJNs. It is unconstitutional. There is no provision for 2 CJNs in the nigerian constitution. There is also no constitution crisis here. Onnoghen is still the CJN. His suspension by Buhari is invalid according to the Constitution. The constitution of Nigeria is very clear on this.
7. Appointment of acting CNJ is also illegal, unconstitutional and unapproved. The Nigerian constitution is also clear on the appointment of the CJN.
6. President Buhari is an ELECTED president of the federal republic of Nigeria.
7. ELECTED president Buhari MUST:
i. OBEY THE RULE OF LAW
ii. OBEY AND FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION
iii. OBEY THE APPEAL COURT which is part of an arm of government.
iv. FOLLOW DUE PROCESS
8. The establishment of these arms of governments and institutions in our democracy were intended to check the elected president and tame the excesses of the elected president, In order to prevent the elected president from becoming a dictator.
9. If these institutions fail to defend and preserve itself and our democracy, especially from the dictatorial tendencies of AN ELECTED president buhari, then Nigeria is already a failed state and the country can as well break up / divide.
Therefore, There is no need for the existence of a country called Nigeria anymore.
Buhari has killed, looted, caused hunger, pain, sufferings, persecuted many already.
WHAT IS CJN’s CRIME?
It is apc’s handwork to use social media to blackmail all political enemies. Buhari’s APC is made up of clueless but professional criminals whose sole responsibility in the past 4years had been to persecute all their political enemies.
0. CJN:
i. is a successful professional
ii. Practiced law for 39years now
iii. Is a constitutional lawyer
iv. Is a justice
v. was not a poor man when made CJN
vi. Has never be caught or tried in any court for criminal offense.
Constitutional lawyers are among the richest.
Are lawyers forbidden to do business? Is it a crime for lawyers to do business?
1. Buhari’s apc presents CJN’s money in his account to the public as if the man stole the money from their treasury or from nigeria’s, because they think that we will fall for large sums of money. Yet, there is still no evidence that he stole the money.
2. they deny the fact that this is a justice who has practiced law for more than half of his life.
3. Where is the evidence that this man stole the money that they froze in his account? They have no moral justification to freeze his account when there are no evidences.
4. What moral authority does Buhari’s apc have to expose CJN’s bank and amount therein, to the public? Was it to buy the sympathy of Nigerian in this election season?
5. Was CJN caught in any corruption scandal like Ganduje, lawal, maina, baru, etc? What is the FG’s basis for publicizing CJN’s bank account and money therein? Buhari had shared from dasuki’s loot. Remember when Buhari said that he got 2 jeeps and not $300,00usd from dasuki. Today dasuki is in prison and Buhari is president.
6. Where is the law that categorically states that undeclared assets are automatically stolen or looted assets? If there is such a law, then buhari with his family members must be held accountable for keystone and 9mobile and Buhari’s wife (Aisha buhari) must be made to explain the where about of N2.5 billion naira in which her ADC stole. Buhari and his son must also be made to account for the power bike his son bought @ $157,000 usd, when we all know that Buhari had only 150 cows.
7. Why is Buhari’s APC publicizing and persecuting the CJN as if he was caught looting? When all we know is an undeclared asset, ……and other looters are running free in the state.
8. Who will want to declare all his assets to such a corrupt government like buhari’s apc? You declare your assets they loot it for you, you don’t declare your assets they still loot it from you, just to force you to decamp to their useless, clueless corrupt apc. Abacha looted Nigeria dry, buhari came back to recover Abacha’s loot. Today, Abacha’s loot has been relooted by buhari and his APC.
9. a. You criticize their bad policies, they call it hate speech
b. You rebuke them for nepotism, tyranny, bigotry, marginalization, etc, they label you as a looter.
c. You refuse to join them, they send EFCC after you.
d. You loot and then join them, they declare you a saint.
e. Meanwhile the real people fighting corruption are constantly being persecuted, such as Former TETFUND executive secretary Abdullahi Baffa, who says that he was sacked due to his refusal to offer part of the money meant for tertiary institutions to education minister Adamu Adamu, meaning that education minister demanded N200million naira bribe from him.
10. They said that they noticed that the CJN did not declare all his assets. This according to them, is his only crime. To be a logical, it means they noticed that he had more than what he declared and that is all. There are no evidences that he looted nigeria’s money like other ‘saints’ have done and his sincerity has tortured them so much that they don’t believe how he could be so sincere.
11. Notice that Buhari’s APC did not realize that the CJN did not declare all his assets until one month to election, why? Why didn’t they verify him before confirming him as CJN? Now we see that FG is at fault.
12. while FG is yet to answer these questions, they persecute him. They persecute the CJN because he is a southerner and a sincere man who is unwilling to make a deal with the devil to declare Buhari winner of 2019 election when he Rigs election, bearing in mind also that buhari is not qualified to contest in this election because he is a criminal. Buhari has forged waec certificate on two different ocasaions in plain sight of all Nigerians and nothing has happened.
13. Osibanjo says that the Buhari is not aware of CJN’s blackmail. Of course Buhari is not aware because Buhari is now a weak old senile retired general, who now relies on the cabals to run the government and the country for him and run his life too. He also has hearing problem and comprehension problem. One would need to repeat himself/herself a million to him. His attention span is now a fraction of a second. His speech is not coordinated. Old age and senility has eaten up buhari.. We saw all these in “the candidates” moderated by kadaria Ahmed, at a town hall meeting on 16th jan, 2019. Watch the video on YouTube again……so appalling and woeful!
14. Buhari slips, slumps and faints during campaigns because he has no strength left. He is old and weak. Watch how he calls delta state APC Gov. Candidate, “presidental candidate.” Despite being corrected many times. Buhari cannot be aware of anything anymore. The cabal is now running the country.
SHAME ON BUHARI AND HIS CORRUPT APC. ONE DAY, NIGERIA WILL BE SAVED FROM THEM!
Everything Buhari touches turns to ash, all the intellectuals around the President have been transformed to semi-literates.Tyrant Buhari.”
Agm Greenman all this trash is for the gullible minds. A day is coming when the majority will be more informed and educated and will persecute the likes of you for spreading lies in the name of bad blood politics!!!
You people are just shouting for nothing. Toothless bulldogs. Take civil action against Mr fake Integrity if you all are serious. Otherwise, stop shouting and shut up forever!
I won’t dignify you with response Falana on this opinion of yours because you failed to ask onnoghen to step aside on moral ground because I see you also trying to benefit from your silence in the long run. You may not induce onnoghen financially o because I still believe you’re are somewhat upright but silence atna time like this is very pregnant and loaded
Kunle Fagbohun
Pointless.
Obi Ekene It will be pointless no argument but still carries value
This is a fail and clueless government i have ever seen in this country
Keep barking till 2023.
Well, he said d truth.. But he also said the meeting of the NJC which has d authority to investigate the CJN was postponed indefinitely by the CJN who happens to be the head.
This is my question, so if the president did nothing, the CJN will just be in his position until he retires as the NJC couldn’t meet anymore? Let’s take the moral ground and call a spade a spade. CJN and his crooks SAN knew the loopholes in our constitution and intend to use them to shield him from prosecution
What does Femi Falana really want? People we should look up to! Are we made for due process or due process is made for us?