Atiku describes Onnoghen's suspension as an attempt to interfere with the outcome of elections

FORMER vice president and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has described the recent suspension of the chief judge of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen as anti-democratic act related to the forthcoming elections.

Yesterday, President Buhari suspended the embattled Justice Onnoghen and replaced him with Justice Tanko Mohammed, who was sworn-in as the acting chief judge of Nigeria (CJN) by the president. Over the last few weeks, Justice Onnoghen has been involved in intense political jockeying with the government that involved him being charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Justice Onnoghen has challenged the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him and filed a motion to that effect, with several other legal suits on the matter also pending. There has also been a huge outcry over the president's actions, with civil society groups and politicians describing it as an attack on the judiciary in the run-up to next month's elections.

Adding his voice to the growing criticism, Alhaji Abubakar said the suspension of Justice Onnoghen should not be allowed to stand. He said: “This brazen dictatorial act is the latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard-earned democracy by those who dined with anti-democratic forces and is symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near.

“The fact that the unlawful suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen was announced just as it became public knowledge that the CJN was constituting the election petition tribunals is not lost on discerning Nigerians and the international community. This act of desperation is geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections.

"Indeed, it is not just the CJN that has been suspended, it is the Nigerian constitution that has been infracted and in effect suspended under the guise of the suspension of the CJN. The case involving the legality or otherwise of the charges against Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is in court, as it should be.

"So far, the judiciary has ruled in Justice Onnoghen’s favour. So, why not allow the court to adjudicate on the matter? What is the pressing urgency?”