Onnoghen goes to Court to Challenge his Suspension

The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, will on Monday (today) challenge his suspension by President Muhammadu Buhari in court.

This is just as the National Judicial Council’s 88th meeting in Abuja has been delayed following fears of a possible clash between supporters of Onnoghen and the acting CJN, Justice Tanko Mohammed.

A senior advocate, who is a member of Onnoghen’s legal team, told one of our correspondents that it had become necessary to do so as the suspension of a CJN by a President was unprecedented.

He said, “We will be going to court to challenge the suspension of the CJN. The President relied on a CCT order despite the fact that the Court of Appeal had restrained all parties from removing the chief justice.

“The CJN was not even served with the court processes before he was removed by the President. So, all these will be challenged in court. When the processes have been filed, the documents will be made public.”

When asked why the CJN waited for three days before challenging his removal, the source said, “He was suspended late on Friday and you know courts do not sit on Saturday and Sunday.”

NJC holds emergency meeting Tuesday

Meanwhile, the National Judicial Council has fixed an emergency meeting for Tuesday (tomorrow) in Abuja by 10am.

The meeting, one of our correspondents learnt, was called over the Friday suspension of Onnoghen by President Buhari.

The spokesperson for the NJC, Mr Soji Oye, confirmed the meeting in a statement on Sunday night.

He said the notice of the meeting had already been sent by the Secretary of the council, Ahmed Saleh, to members.

“The meeting will hold on Tuesday and notice has been sent to members. I can confirm this to you. It is different from the rumour that was in circulation before that a meeting had been fixed for Monday,” Oye said.

In a related development, the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria has called a meeting for Wednesday.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the National President of JUSUN, Marwan Adamu, the union said it would deliberate on the happenings in the Judiciary and take a stand after the meeting.

Adamu described the situation in the Judiciary as unfortunate, insisting that the independence of  the Judiciary as enshrined in the constitution “is non-negotiable.”

Buhari invites APC senators to Villa over Onnoghen’s suspension

Meanwhile, President Buhari has summoned members of the All Progressives Congress in the Senate to a meeting at the Presidential Villa on Monday (today) over Onnoghen’s suspension.

Onnoghen was suspended on Friday by President Buhari based on an ex parte order granted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

He is facing six counts of false assets declaration filed against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Buhari’s meeting with the APC governors will take place ahead of the Senate emergency resumption on Tuesday (tomorrow) when decisions are expected to be taken on Onnoghen’s suspension by the President.

The APC senators’ meeting with the President, it was gathered, would take a position to counter the expected condemnation of the CJN’s suspension by the members of the opposition in the Senate on Tuesday.

However, the meeting which is going to hold at the Banquet Hall, is being tagged as a dinner. Invitations to the meeting were signed by the Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Organisation, who is also the Minister of Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.

A source close to the organisers of the meeting who spoke with one of our correspondents, said the national leadership of the APC would also attend the meeting.

He said apart from the senators and the APC leaders, some APC governors had also been invited to the meeting.

He said, “You know that the Senate leadership belongs to the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party. The party on its own has taken a position on this matter.

“Also, the President of the Senate, who is also the Director General of the PDP presidential candidate Council, Bukola Saraki, has taken a position on this matter.

“So, we need to talk to our members in the Senate and impress it on them not to allow Saraki to impose his personal opinion on them.”

APC Reps also to meet

Also, members of the APC Caucus in the House of Representatives have scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday (today).

The Majority Leader, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, called the meeting, according to a text message circulating among the lawmakers on Sunday.

“Honourable colleagues, there will be a meeting of the APC caucus tomorrow, Monday, at 4pm. Venue is the White House Hearing Room 1.  Thank you. Femi Gbajabiamila,” the message sighted by one of our correspondents read.

Meeting meant to bribe lawmakers, PDP alleges

But the PDP has alleged that certain agents of the Presidency were making moves to bribe the APC senators to protect Buhari from parliamentary sanctions for constitutional breaches.

The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement on Sunday stated that intelligence available to the PDP showed that that was the reason the Presidency had summoned all the APC senators to the Presidential Villa to a clandestine meeting on Monday (today’s) night.

Ologbondiyan said, “President Buhari is not only apprehensive that the Senate might sanction him for violating the constitution and usurping its statutory duties regarding the handling of issues related to a CJN, the parliament may also open an inquest into how President Buhari, who parades himself as Mr Integrity, allegedly procured an order from the CCT upon which he announced the illegal suspension of the CJN.

Punch Nigeria