JUST IN: 67 parties kick, say Onnoghen’s suspension must not stand

Sixty-Seven political parties on Monday protested against the
suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen
by the Federal Government describing it as “illegal,
unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.”

The parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party and Social
Democratic Party, said like every other concerned stakeholder and
Nigerian, they were very disturbed by the illegal suspension of the
CJN and the swearing-in of an acting CJN, saying “both actions are
illegal and foreign to our constitution.”

“The CJN, as a judicial officer, can only be removed from office
by the President acting on an address supported by two-thirds
majority of the Senate for his inability to discharge the functions
of his office or appointment or for misconduct or contravention of
the Code of Conduct.

“Anything contrary to this procedure is unconstitutional and
serves only to harm our democracy. Furthermore, the National
Judicial Council, (NJC), has not recommended the suspension or
removal of the CJN, neither has it exercised any disciplinary
action against the CJN. Thus the purported suspension of the CJN by
President Buhari must fail”, the 67 parties stated.

The parties in a joint document endorsed by all of them called
on President Muhammadu Buhari to do the right thing and reverse the
suspension of the CJN immediately.

It reads: “We emphatically state here that the purported
suspension of the CJN is unequivocally illegal, indefensible and
thus unconstitutional.

The improper process adopted by President Mohammadu Buhari, in
suspending the CJN and in appointing Justice Tanko Mohammed as the
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, is seen by a majority of Nigerians
as based on an improperly obtained Order of the Code of Conduct
Tribunal, thus making it illegal.

“Furthermore, it is unconstitutional because it violates and
goes against the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Painfully, the actions of President Buhari is intended and
contrived to precipitate a constitutional crisis in our dear
country and further polarize Nigeria unnecessarily.

“It should be noted that the office of the CJN is not a
ministerial position, rather it is a creation of Sections 230(1)(a)
and 231(1) & (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. That office, the CJN, is the head of an independent arm of
our tripartite government.

“It should also be noted that the removal of the CJN is
addressed in our Constitution in Section 292, wherein a strict
process is outlined and must be followed. Generally, the three
independent arms of the government must be involved in both
instances of appointment and removal of the CJN. Thus, the
president, in acting alone and unilaterally, lacks the power and
authority to suspend the Chief Justice of the Federation.

“President Buhari’s purported suspension of the CJN in reliance
on the improperly obtained and improperly issued Order of the Code
of Conduct Tribunal, which is actually under the Executive Branch,
is to put it mildly, wrong, misplaced, ill-conceived and deserving
of immediate reversal.

“It is very distressing that the timing of this illegal act by
President Buhari, being so close to the upcoming general elections,
has brought suspicion to the intent of the President regarding the
fairness of the forthcoming general elections and possibly tainted
the elections dispute resolution process, such as the creation of
election dispute tribunals.

“As political parties, we, therefore, reject this illegal act of
the President and the unwarranted attack on the Constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria. We, therefore, call on President
Buhari to immediately rescind his illegal suspension of the CJN so
as to avoid further harm to our nascent democratic
institutions.