Buhari
President
Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to “instruct the Attorney-General
of the Federation and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami SAN, to
immediately withdraw the charges against the Chief Justice of Nigeria
Walter Onnoghen and to send
any allegations of breach of asset declaration provisions of the 1999
Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) to the National Judicial Council
(NJC) for investigation.”
According
to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in a
statement Monday, “Malami should then request Justice Onnoghen as
the Chairman of the NJC to recuse himself, so that the next most
senior justice at the Supreme Court can preside over the process and
set up a panel to investigate the allegations against
Justice Onnoghen to ensure fairness and justice in the
matter.”
In
a statement today by SERAP senior legal adviser Bamisope Adeyanju,
the organisation said: “We believe that enforcing asset declaration
provisions would help to prevent corruption and abuse of office and
ensure transparency in public officers including judges. But the
government should follow due process of law, and allow the NJC to
consider the allegations against Justice Onnoghen first before
pushing for prosecution, should there be any relevant admissible
evidence. This would help to accord Justice Onoghen his entire rights
through laid down process.”
The
statement read in part: “The moral guilt or the legal guilt of
Justice Onnoghen should be left for the judicial process to decide,
as he is presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of
competent jurisdiction. For now, the fundamental question is whether
he is afforded the due process of law, as he is constitutionally and
legally entitled to. This is our interest in this case, and this
should be the interest of every lover of justice.”
“It
is the principle of due process of law which is at stake in this
case, the soul and spirit of which will be endangered if Justice
Onnoghen’s case continues to be heard before the Code of Conduct
Tribunal. A denial of justice to one citizen is a denial of such to
all. Due process here requires that Justice Onnoghe be given an
opportunity to have allegations against him heard by the NJC.”
"The
bringing of this case against Justice Onnoghen before the Code of
Conduct Tribunal would appear to have fallen below the minimum
procedural standards of legal justice, which in turn would affect the
quality of justice he receives. Due process rights should not be
curtailed in the interest of expediting enforcement of asset
declaration provisions. The authorities have the responsibility to
insure fair treatment of judges or others who face these kinds of
charges that may ultimately lead to deprivation of liberty.”
“Preventing
the NJC to first hear the allegations against Justice Onnoghen
would deny him his constitutionally and internationally recognized
right to a fair hearing and lead to the matter being unnecessary
politicised.”
“The
authorities may have a strong case against him but the possibility of
success is diminished if the proper procedure is not followed. The
requirements of justice and success of the fight against corruption
justify the fundamental need to ensure and apply due process rights
in this case.”
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