By Patrick Obia
Following the controversies trailing the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Buhari, Barrister Leonard Anyogo has described it as “a time bomb that is ready to explode.”
The legal practitioner and Notary Public stated this as a guest on a regular Sunday radio program ‘The Dialogue With Agba Jalingo’ on Hit 95.9FM Calabar, where he said the President has gone against the constitution of the country adding that the appointment of Justice Tanko Ibrahim Mohammed contravenes judicial principles and suspension of the constitution.
Earlier, President Mohammedu Buhari had said his move to suspend Walter Onnoghen was based on the exparte order by the Code of Conduct Tribunal. On his view, the constitutional lawyer argued.
His words, “Oh dear, what are we talking about exparte order? Let me talk to Nigerians and the international community; exparte order is that order you obtain when the other person is not put on notice; tell us because it is on record, on the 23rd of this month, the court of tribunal had adjourned sitting .Where was that court order obtained.?
“I tell us this is a coup against the Nigeria state and I can tell us that this is the second time Mr. President is suspending the constitution; he did it in 1983 but this time around he’s not going away with it because this is a Democratic dispensation, the National Judicial Council will act, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) will act, the civil societies will act. It is only Mr. President that is on this page; the United State, the United Kingdom and the European Union will act. This has gone beyond the Nigeria state, we are in bismuth period; it is a time bomb ready to explode. By God’s grace we are going to use the Democratic process to restore the Nigerian dignity.” He concludes.
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