…As Onnoghen says I have not resigned***
The Senate on Monday filed a suit before the Supreme Court
praying for among others, an order reinstating Justice Walter Onnoghen as the
Chief Justice of Nigeria.
The Senate action came after it cancelled its scheduled
plenary earlier billed for Tuesday (today).
The Clerk of the Senate, Mr Nelson Ayewoh, who announced the
cancellation in a statement signed by him, did not give reasons for the action.
He only explained that the federal lawmakers would resume on
February 19.
But the Special Adviser (Media) to the Senate President, Mr.
Yusuph Olaniyonu, in a statement explained that the cancellation was due to the
last-minute decision by the Senate leadership to seek judicial interpretation to
Onnoghen’s suspension by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.
In the suit marked SC.76/2019, the Senate asked the
apex court to declare the suspension of Onnoghen without support of two-thirds
majority of the Senate as a violation of section 292(1)(a)(i) of the
constitution.
The suit also asked the apex court to issue an order
restraining the two defendants in the suit – President Buhari and the
Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami – from continuing or
repeating the violation of the constitution and disregarding the power of the
Senate in respect to the suspension of the CJN.
The three prayers sought by the Senate read, “A declaration
that the suspension, by the President, of Hon. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu
Onnoghen from his office as Chief Justice of Nigeria on or about January 25,
2019, without an address calling for the removal, supported by two-thirds
majority of the Senate is in violation of section 292(1)(a)(i) of the
constitution and therefore null and void.
“An order rescinding or setting aside the suspension of Hon.
Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen from his office as the Chief Justice of
Nigeria and restoring him to the said office.
“An order restraining
the defendants from continuing or repeating the violation of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and disregarding the powers of the Senate at
the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Buhari had while announcing the suspension of Onnoghen
hinged his decision on an ex parte order made by two of the three members of
the Code of Conduct Tribunal where Onnoghen had been charged with six counts of
non-declaration of assets.
The CCT order had directed the CJN to step aside from office
pending the conclusion of his trial and ordered the President to swear in the
next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, as the
acting CJN.
But the Senate, through its counsel, Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN),
has, in its suit which was filed on Monday, faulted the President’s
action.
It argued that the President could not on the directive of
the CCT suspend the CJN without two-thirds majority of the Senate or appoint
Muhammad as the acting CJN without Senate’s confirmation.
The plaintiff submitted two questions for determination.
One of the questions is if having regard to section 292 and
Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Nigerian Constitution and section 21 of the
Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, the President could not “suspend” or
“prevent” the CJN from performing the functions of his office “on the directive
of the Code of Conduct Tribunal or for any reason whatsoever, without an
address supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate calling for the removal
of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.”
The other question for determination read, “Having regard to
section 231 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as
amended, and in particular, sub-sections (1) and (4) thereof, can the President
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria appoint an acting Chief Justice of Nigeria
when there is no vacancy in that office and when the substantive Chief Justice
of Nigeria is fit and able to perform the functions of the office and without
the recommendation of the National Council and confirmation of such appointment
by the Senate.”
A Legal Assistant in the Office of the Senate President, Mr.
Sambo Idahi, in an affidavit filed in support of the suit, said he attended a
meeting of the principal officers of the Senate held on January 25, 2019 when
the issue of Onnoghen was extensively discussed.
He said the meeting discussed the CCT’s ex parte order which
the President anchored his action on and the swearing-in of Justice Muhammad as
the acting CJN.
According to Idahi, Saraki informed the meeting that he was
not consulted on the matter and never received any request from the President
or any other person or authority to debate the issue.
He added that Saraki said Buhari had never requested the
Senate’s approval of Justice Muhammad as the acting CJN.
The affidavit read in part, “On Friday, the 25th day of
January, 2019, at about 5.40 pm, I was present at a meeting in the Senate
Building attended by Principal Officers of the Senate, where the suspension of
the Chief Justice of Nigeria was extensively discussed.
“The discussions at the meeting centred on the public
announcement made by the President of Nigeria, General Muhammadu Buhari, on the
25th day of January, 2019, in which he revealed that he had suspended the Chief
Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen, and appointed Hon. Justice l.
T. Muhammad as the Chief Justice of Nigeria in an acting capacity. The
President’s address during the swearing-in of Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko
Muhammad was also discussed at the meeting as well as the ex parte order made
by the Code of Conduct Tribunal on which the President had acted.
“Hereto shown to me and marked Exhibit A is the said
President Muhammadu Buhari’s address. The tribunal’s ex parte order is Exhibit
B herein.
“I printed out
Exhibits A and B from a HP desktop Computer and HP Laser Jet Pro 4ooMo1a in the
office of the Senate President. We use the computer and printer aforesaid daily
in the normal work of the Senate and throughout the period of their use, both
have functioned accurately. Information has been regularly supplied to the
computer in the ordinary cause of those activities information of the kind from
which the exhibits were derived and the computer and printer have behaved
properly and nothing has ever happened to make us question their reliability
and accuracy.
“The President of the Senate informed the meeting that the
Senate was not consulted on the matter and never received any request from the
President or any other person or authority to debate the issue or present an
address to the President for the removal or suspension of the Chief Justice of
Nigeria.
“The Senate President and other persons at the meeting
repeatedly stated that the Senate had never met to vote on the removal or
suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and that no address had been passed
by the Senate and presented or sent to the President of Nigeria for the Chief
Justice to be removed or suspended.
“The meeting also noted that the Senate was not requested to
confirm and did not confirm the appointment of Hon Justice l. T. Mohammed as
acting Chief Justice.”
In the meantime, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice
Walter Onnoghen, who was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari last Friday,
has debunked the rumour gaining traction online on Monday that he has resigned.
Onnoghen, whom President Muhammadu Buhari replaced with the
next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Mohammed, as Acting
CJN, debunked the rumour in a statement on Monday.
The statement was signed by his media aide, Awassam Bassey,
who described the CJN’s rumoured resignation as “fake news circulated by
mischief makers.”
“Mischief makers are still circulating this fake news. Once
again, no truth in it whatsoever. The Hon CJN, Hon Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu
Onnoghen, GCON, has not resigned,” Bassey said.
The rumour came less than 24 hours to the emergency meeting
summoned by the National Judicial Council to deliberate on Onnoghen’s
suspension and Muhammad’s emergence as the Acting CJN.
The Buhari administration has since Friday, come under scathing and widespread criticism locally and from the international community for being ill-timed, coming in the eve of the imminent general elections.
Punch with additional report from The Citizen
