Onnoghen: Falana questions speed of high court orders, industrial court involvement

Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana has descried what he called ‘dangerous precedents’ being set in the charges filed against Chief Justice of Nigeria Water Onnoghen, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

During the 15th Gani Fawehinmi Annual Lecture on Tuesday, the human rights activist said the legal issues already settled by the Supreme Court in the case of Saraki vs Federal Government were being reopened in Onnoghen’s case.

He was worried at the speed with which the various suits filed to challenge the charges against the CJN were heard and ruled upon by the courts.

“The question of the appearance of the accused, the question of service; it came up in Saraki’s case. Once you are aware, you have been served. But we are opening it afresh,” he said.

Describing the industrial court intervention as disturbing, he said “The National Industrial Court has waded in to say that the Chief Justice shall not be arrested. Who is talking of arrest? What is the locus standi of the National Industrial Court on the affairs of a judge?”

He also took up the restraining order from the Abuja Federal High Court against the Code of Conduct Bureau.

“I discovered that a case that was filed at the Federal High Court yesterday (Monday) was processed yesterday, assigned yesterday, heard yesterday and an order was made yesterday.” He said.

According to him, in the last 20 years, it has never happened in any court in Nigeria.

“Please, let us know that we are setting dangerous precedents. And that is why sentiment should not come in.”

Falana was among the first legal minds that cried foul over the arrest and arraignment pf Onnoghen. He, however, said he was only concerned about following procedures.

“I wasn’t talking about the substance of the case, because for me, if you catch an armed robber red-handed and you decide to chop off his hand, you have lost your case; you still have to take him to court and that is what should happen in this case. We must go through the proper channel for dealing with complaints against judges.”

Althiugh the federal government has halted ots move to arraign the CJN, it has frozen all his bank accounts, local and foreign.

The No. 1 justice was alleged to have falsely declared his asset when he became CJN.