“Buhari’s Suspension of CJN, a Brazen Dictatorial Act”- Atiku

The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, describing it as a “brazen dictatorial act”. Atiku also described it as the “latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard-earned democracy”. 

The President had announced Justice Onnoghen’s suspension, pending the outcome of the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s case against him. Onnoghen faces charges bordering on his failure to declare some of his assets.

The former Vice President went on to describe the suspension as “an anti-democratic act geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections”.

The decision is “symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near”, he said.

Onnoghen on Thursday secured a Court of Appeal injunction ordering the lower Code of Conduct Tribunal to halt the case, pending a ruling on his application to dismiss the charges.

Below is a full text of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s reaction to the suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen:

“The Purported Suspension of CJN Onnoghen is an Act of Dictatorship Taken too Far

The purported suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari, is an anti-democratic act which I reject in its entirety and call on Justice Onnoghen and the judiciary to resist with every legal and constitutional means that they can muster.

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?

“I want to seize this opportunity to call for unity amongst the judiciary. Do not let the Muhammadu Buhari administration divide you. Do not let this government turn you against yourselves. The judiciary is the last hope of the common man and the defender of our democracy.

“I also urge the international community to follow the commendable example of the United States and the United Kingdom by intervening to make those involved in this undemocratic act know that their actions will have consequences. Strong consequences.

“And to the Nigerian electorate, I call on you to save your beloved country from dictatorship by voting against President Muhammadu Buhari’s desperate war against the judiciary. Our country is falling apart under the leadership of President Buhari and it is time to stand up for democracy.

Signed:

Atiku Abubakar

Waziri Adamawa

Presidential Candidate of PDP & Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007”