UN special rapporteur on the independence of the judiciary faults Buhari's suspension of Onnoghen

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has come under increased pressure over his decision to suspend the chief judge of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen after the United Nations special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Diegio Garcia-Sayan criticised it.

 

Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Justice Onnoghen and replaced him with Justice Tanko Mohammed, who was sworn-in as the acting chief judge of Nigeria (CJN). Justice Onnoghen has been involved in intense political jockeying with the government that involved him being charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and the matter is now the subject of several law suits.

 

While the matter was still pending in court, President Buhari decided to suspend Justice Onnoghen, leading to accusations that he interfering with the independence of the judiciary. Wading into the crisis, Mr Garcia-Sayan said that the international human rights standards broken by President Buhari provide that judges may only be dismissed when they have been involved in serious cases of misconduct or incompetence.

 

Mr Garcia-Sayan, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate legal and judicial independence, said dismissing judges without following legal procedures or offering them a chance to contest the decision was incompatible with the independence of the judiciary. He pointed out that four courts superior to the CCT had already ordered a stay of proceedings and the tribunal itself had previously said it lacked jurisdiction over cases involving judicial officers.

 

“International human rights standards provide that judges may be dismissed only on serious grounds of misconduct or incompetence. Any decision to suspend or remove a judge from office should be fair and should be taken by an independent authority such as a judicial council or a court,” Mr Garcia-Sayan added.

 

According to the United Nations, some of the judges and the defence lawyers involved in Justice Onnoghen’s case had been subjected to serious threats, pressure and interference. Already, the actions of the government have prompted anger among Nigeria's civil society groups, political opposition and the Nigerian Bar Association, who have described the suspension of Justice Onnoghen as an attempted coup against the Nigerian judiciary.

 

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