The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen and his replacement with an acting Chief Justice.
Noting that the action represented a “major threat to Nigeria’s democracy and a descent into Constitutional anarchy,” the organisation in a statement on its website and issued by its Convener, Clement Nwankwo, said the President’s action was in violation of the Constitutional procedures for the removal of the Chief Justice of Nigeria as specified in section 292 of the Nigerian Constitution.
“The Constitution of Nigeria is explicit in stating that the Chief Justice of Nigeria may only be removed from Office upon a motion supported by two-thirds of members of the Nigeria Senate on specified grounds,” it said.
It noted that in claiming to remove the Chief Justice of Nigeria from Office, the president breached the Constitution and therefore acted with “impunity and disdain for the rule of law, due process and constitutionality.”
Besides reversing the suspension of Onneghen, the Situation Room asked the president to “refrain from interfering with the independence of the judiciary as clearly recognized by the Nigerian Constitution, especially with the general elections scheduled to hold in about three weeks.”
It also called on the National Assembly to urgently reconvene in an emergency session and provide needed legislative response to this what it described as “blatant challenge to our Constitution and democracy.”
It would be recalled that the Senate has adjourned plenary to February 19, three days after the President Election.
The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible and transparent elections in Nigeria and includes such groups as Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Enough is Enough Nigeria, WANGONET, CITAD, and Partners for Electoral Reform. Others are JDPC, Proactive Gender Initiative, Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), RECHDI, CWAE, and Centre for Citizens with Disabilities.
