GOVERNOR Samuel Ortom of Benue State has condemned the ploy by Federal Government to force the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen to resign or be removed.
Ortom in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase said he considered the move as a deliberate ploy to intimidate and gang up against the judiciary and also a gross violation of the principle of separation of powers.
The governor stated that the manner in which the Federal Government is plotting to remove the CJN by rushing charges against him to the Code of Conduct Tribunal and leaking the charges to the press at the weekend was suspicious, smacks of desperation and lacks regard for due process.
Governor Ortom urged all Nigerians to resist this unwarranted assault on the country’s Judiciary and save democracy from the hands of its enemies.
“It is now clear that after unsuccessful attempts to intimidate the National Assembly, the same undemocratic forces have turned their attacks on the Judiciary. This is a clarion call on men and women of goodwill to condemn the move aimed at suppressing the judicial arm of government.
“Due process and the rule of law must be seen to be in operation in the country. If Justice Walter Onnoghen is guilty of the charges filed against him, it is the duty of the courts to determine not the Federal Government or its agents.
“The Federal Government has apparently chosen to ignore the provisions of extant laws and judicial process which hold that either the National Judicial Council or the National Assembly must play a role in the removal of the CJN. The President is expected to act on an address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate”, Ortom stated.
The governor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to respect the principle of separation of powers and pave way for the rule of law, so as not to throw the country into constitutional crisis, stressing that the current pressure on Justice Walter Onnoghen and the Judiciary, in general, was ill-advised, unnecessary and unacceptable.
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