NJC gives Onnoghen, Muhammad seven days to respond to petition

THE National Judicial Council (NJC) on Tuesday gave the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen and the acting CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad seven days to respond to the petitions filed against them before the Council.

A statement made available to newsmen by the Director, Information of the NJC, Soji Oye, at the end of the Council’s emergency meeting yesterday said the Council referred the petition against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Yakubu Umar to the Federal Judicial Service Commissioned (FJSC) for necessary action.

According to the NJC spokesman, the emergency meeting considered a total of four petitions brought before the Council.

The petitions are against the suspended CJN filed by Zikhrillahi Ibrahim of Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civil Education and the one filed against the acting CJN, Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, by the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative.

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Other petitions considered at the emergency meeting, according to Oye are the one against Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad by Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) and the petition against the CCT chairman, Danladi Yakubu Umar by the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative.

The Council, the statement said, referred to the petition against the CCT boss to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) which is the appropriate constitutional body empowered to deal with it.

“In line with its procedure, Council also forwarded the petitions against Justices Onnoghen, and Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad to them for their responses.

“In view of the gravity of the matters involved, Council abridged the usual response period from fourteen to seven working days for the Justices to respond”, Soji disclosed in the statement.

Both Onnoghen and Muhammad recused themselves from the NJC’s emergency meeting yesterday and consequently, Council elected former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, as Interim Chairman to preside over the meeting.

The statement said the Council will reconvene on February 11, 2019.

The federal government had slammed a six-count charge, bordering on the non-declaration of assets against Justice Onnoghen before the Umar led Code of Conduct Tribunal.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, on Friday suspended Onnoghen and swore-in Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad as acting CJN, on the strength of an exparte order by the CCT.

The action of the federal government was condemned by lawyers and civil society organisations.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), while condemning Onnoghen’s suspension, directed its members to boycott the court on Tuesday and Wednesday, a directive that was partially adhered to yesterday.