Maritime lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN),
Dr. Olisa Agbakoba, has stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari can absolve
himself or pretend that he is not aware of charges filed by the federal
government against the Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter
Onnoghen.
Speaking on Monday on Arise News TV, Agbakoba said he would challenge the federal
government in court, adding that the head of the courts is entitled to certain
immunity different from the immunity granted the president and governors by
Section 308 of the constitution.
The senior advocate of Nigeria stated that the
insinuation in some quarters that Buhari was not aware was tantamount to what
former presidents of the United States of America were doing during the
inglorious days when the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agents went killing
people around the world and the president would claim not to be aware it.
While advising the government to withdraw what he
described as "rubbish case," Agbokoba said the belief that the
president does not know about the case is not tenable, adding that what the president
is doing is "plausible deniability," just like the president of the
US always denies knowledge of actions of the CIA.
He hinted that President Buhari is very much aware of every
action against the CJN, hence he has not spoken out about it.
The human rights advocate further said the way the
arraignment of the CJN was handled smack of political interference by the
executive on an issue that should otherwise have been handled by the National
Judicial Council (NJC), adding that what made this worse is the speed at which
it was handled. It was all done within three days, he added.
The legal expert wondered how efficient the Nigerian
judicial system is that the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) would receive a
petition on Wednesday, framed charges on Thursday and get it signed by the chairman
of the CCB on Saturday, adding that "that shows a super-efficient federal
government.”
He said the government shot itself in the leg by bringing
the case in such a hurry, a situation which is responsible for the untidiness
in its filing.
Agbakoba also opined that the move against Onnaoghen
may not be unconnected with the feeling in certain circles in the government
that the judiciary may have been anti-All Progressives Congress (APC) because
of its rulings in recent times.
The lawyer cum activist, who said he would file a case
before the court on the issue, stressed that it is only the Senate of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria that can deal with such case, and that what the
executive arm of government has done is inferring in the activities of another
arm of government which has equal jurisdiction.
He insisted that the CJN, like the president, the
governor and their deputies, also enjoys official immunity which ordinarily has
been violated by the action of the federal government.
Agbakoba stressed that due process was not followed by
the government in Onnoghen’s case because the National Judicial Council (NJC) should
have been approached first in dealing with the case or the Senate, adding that
by bypassing the process, the government case cannot stand.
"Only the NJC has the authority to investigate
any infraction by any judicial officer," he stressed.
Agbakoba warned that unless the right thing is done by
the government in this case, the situation might lead to a constitutional
crisis, which might find all people involved in the judicial process in the
country downing tool to ensure that justice is served.
"We are strong and resolute that this rubbish
will not happen; it will have the gravest consequences, so I appeal to the
federal government to withdraw the charge, and in the event that it has a case
against the CJN, to proceed to the Senate to file a charge," he insisted.
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