In perhaps the most brazen assault yet on the democratic experiment started in Nigeria in 1999, President Muhammadu Buhari, on Friday, announced the ‘suspension’ from office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, appointing the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Mohammed, as his replacement in acting capacity pending the final determination of the case against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Buhari predicated his action on the receipt of an order by the CCT directing that Justice Onnoghen be temporarily relieved of his duties during his trial at the tribunal, yet this is a president notorious for serial disobedience of court orders, including those of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) court.
It is on record that the Buhari government has been characterised by highhanded invasion of a media house critical of the government, the open invasion of the National Assembly on two occasions and the perceived maltreatment of key officers of that arm of government, in addition to sundry other rights abuses that give the impression that it does not set great store by constitutional practices. It is indeed disquieting that the president’s address was started with the catchphrase associated more with military coups, ‘Fellow Nigerians’, raising fears of a probable slide into the military frame of mind given his antecedents.
According to the president: “The security agencies had traced transactions running into millions of dollars to the CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law. Perhaps more worrisome is the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s own written admission to the charges that he indeed failed to follow the spirit and letter of the law in declaring his assets, citing ’mistake’ and ‘forgetfulness’ which are totally unknown to our laws as defences in the circumstances of his case.” But as we stated in our previous editorial on this case, what is at issue is not the propriety or otherwise of the alleged action of Justice Onnoghen, but the way the case has been approached by the CCT evidently under the influence of the Federal Government. We pointed out that no matter the gravity of the alleged offence, the step to take was not to drag him to the CCT in the first instance, but to make the report of the particulars of the alleged offences available to the National Judicial Council (NJC) which has the constitutional powers to discipline judicial officers. Sidestepping the NJC gave the impression that Buhari was not interested in following due process, but in a predetermined end: removing Justice Onnoghen from office.
The strive to achieve this predetermined end is supported by the manner in which the so-called order from the CCT was obtained. It is on record that the CCT had in fact adjourned till today (28th January) to rule on the preliminary objection filed by Justice Onnoghen challenging its jurisdiction to try him without recourse to the NJC and contrary to the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case of NGANJIWA v FRN(2017). But the CCT then made a 360 degree turn, originated a motion ex parte all by itself and ruled on it, expressly trampling the law on its face by turning itself into a Father Christmas instead of addressing the question of jurisdiction. This is outside of the fact that the CCT chairman himself, Mr Danladi Umar, is allegedly under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), with nobody asking him to vacate office or recuse himself from cases.
The rush toward a predetermined end is further borne out in the president’s address when he stated: “It is no secret that this government is dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially set free persons accused of the most dire acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities.” This position is not acceptable under any democracy and is definitely not acceptable under the current Nigerian constitution. It is not the responsibility of the president and, indeed, the entire executive arm of government to determine what judgments should be given by the courts. Holding this kind of view betrays the president as not recognizing the checks and balances the constitution put in place to protect democratic practice. In effect, he is not satisfied with just being the president as defined under the constitution but wants to determine what other arms of government do or do not do, expecting all the arms of government to take instructions from him and evidently getting angry when they depart from whatever he wants.
This frame of mind is what dictatorship is made of and it is instructive that almost all comments on the current suspension of Justice Onnoghen have hinted at the possibility of a creeping dictatorship and the desire to manipulate the coming general election, especially as the unconstitutional act is taking place just three weeks to the elections.
For instance, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) rightly described the move as “a coup against the judiciary,” calling on the National Assembly to save the country from constitutional crisis. In its own reaction to the sad episode, the United States noted that President Buhari’s action “undercuts the stated determination of government, candidates, and political party leaders to ensure that the elections proceed in a way that is free, fair, transparent, and peaceful.” Similarly, the British High Commission said it was compelled to observe that the timing of this action, so close to national elections, risked “affecting both domestic and international perceptions on the credibility of the forthcoming elections.” And the European Union warned that the action portended danger as it did not follow due process. The overwhelming majority of Nigerians and the international community are sensing that a major crisis is afoot in Nigeria, the kind contemplated by James Madison, former US President in his famous quote: “The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self appointed, or elective, may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.”
Given the brazen nature of the current move by President Buhari and its grave implications not only for democratic and constitutional rule in Nigeria, but also for the peace and continued unity of the country, all lovers of peace and democratic rule in Nigeria must come together to quickly reverse this slide into dictatorship and possible anarchy. Buhari must be told in unmistakable terms that he does not have the powers to seek the removal of Justice Onnoghen because he does not like or approve of the judgments coming from the courts under his oversight. The judiciary is not accountable to him under the constitution and the CJN does not hold office at his pleasure. For Buhari to want to dictate the kind of judgments courts would give and the persons to preside over the judiciary outside of constitutional checks amounts to an overreach and is a recipe for anarchy in the country. He should realise the utter unconstitutionality and insensitivity of his action and not push the country on the path of avoidable crisis. He should swiftly reverse himself and allow the NJC to act on the allegations against Justice Onnoghen.
The overwhelming negative response to Buhari’s action should convince all that Nigerians oppose dictatorship and maximum rule. There is an urgent need to return the country to path of peace and calm by rescinding the suspension order on Justice Onnoghen even as we urge the NJC to reconvene and consider the allegations against him.
President Olusegun Obasanjo used his power to remove IGP Tafa Balogun; President Umaru Musa Yar’adua used his power to remove EFCC Chairman Malam Nuhu Ribadu; President Goodluck Jonathan used his power to remove the President of the Court of Appeal, Hon. Justice Isah Ayo Salami, removed Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as CBN Governor, also removed IGP Sulaiman Abba.
All of them did the right thing but when Buhari used the same power to remove the Hon. Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, that’s when it becomes a crime. That’s when democracy is threatened. That’s when Nigeria is threatened.
Our country is full hypocrites, rabble rousers, grandstanders, fake professionals, fake interpreters of our laws, and very bad politicians.
This country MUST change, whether they like it or not!
#CarryOnPMB
#NoShaking
#ISTANDWITHBUHARI