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NJC issues seven days ultimatum to Onnoghen, Muhammad to answer petitions

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6 years ago

January 30, 2019

Olu Emmanuel

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Refers petition against CCT Chairman, Danladi Yakubu Umar, to Federal Judicial Service Commission

The National Judicial Council (NJC) held an emergency meeting on Tuesday where the jurists considered four petitions filed at the Secretariat of the Council. The controversial Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Tanko Muhammad has two of the four petitions to answer while Justice Walter Onnoghe and Justice Danladi Umar, Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), have one petition to answer, respectively.

Soji Oye, Director of Information, in a statement indicated that the petitions include: Petition against Hon. Justice W.S.N. Onnoghen, by Zikhrillahi Ibrahim of Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civil Education; Petition against Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad by Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative; Petition against Hon. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad by Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, OON; and Petition against Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar, Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal by Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative.

The statement further indicated that the Council referred the petition against Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) which is the appropriate constitutional body empowered to deal with it.

In line with its procedure, Council also forwarded the petitions against Justices W.S.N. Onnoghen and I. T. Muhammad to them for their responses.

Soji Oye noted that in view of the gravity of the matters involved, the Council abridged the usual response period from 14 to seven working days for the Justices to respond to the petitions.

It disclosed that Justice W. S. N. Onnoghen and Justice I.T. Muhammad recused themselves from the meeting.

Consequently, Council elected Justice Umaru Abdullahi, former President of the Court of Appeal as Interim Chairman to preside over the NJC meeting.

The Council will reconvene on the February 11, 2019, to consider the responses of the two justices which would guide their subsequent decisions on the suspension of CJN Onnoghen and his replacement with Justice Muhammad by President Muhammadu Buhari last Friday.

CJN Onnoghen is being accused of false declaration of assets by the Federal Government through the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) over a petition by a group led by a former Aide of President Buhari.

While the case is still pending at the CCT, including appeal suits and the Court of Appeal and restrain orders by an Abuja High Court, National Industrial Court and the Court of Appeal, President Buhari undermined the judicial processes, conclusion his own judgment and suspended CJN Onnoghen, and urgently swore in Justice Muhhammad as acting CJN, who subsequently inaugurated the elections petitions tribunals of the 36 states of the Federation last Saturday, duty Onnoghen had scheduled to perform.