The Ijaw Youths
Council (IYC) on Friday said it received with shock the news of the suspension
of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen.
Reacting to the development,
Mr Eric Omare in a statement on Friday that the immediate swearing in of
Justice Tanko Muhammed as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria came to IYC as a surprise.
.
“This is a coup against
democracy and the rule of law. Nigeria is under a constitutional democracy that
is governed by the rule of law and the action by President Buhari lacks
foundation in law.
“President Buhari
lacks the powers to suspend the Chief Justice of Nigeria without the
recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
“And It is even
unthinkable to suspend Justice Onnoghen in the light of the multiple valid and
subsisting orders of the National Industrial court, federal High court and the
court of appeal which bars the Code of Conduct tribunal from going on with the
trial of Justice Onnoghen.
“President Buhari
claimed to have acted pursuant to an order of the CCT made on the 23rd of
January, 2019, however from the records of proceedings of the CCT, no such
order was made.
“The pending motions
are yet to be taken hence it is surprising for the President to be relying on a
non-existing order.
“This is desperation
taken too far and the IYC in the strongest terms condemn this display of
impunity by President Buhari. This is the height of lawlessness and the
greatest threat to democratic rule in Nigeria,” Omare stated.
The IYC called on
President Buhari to immediately reverse this allegal decision, calling on
Nigerians and all lovers of democracy all over the world to rise up and defend
our democracy in Nigeria.
He said that Anti democratic forces who
truncated democracy in the past must not be allowed to truncate democracy
again.
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