Ime Akpan
The suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mr. Walter Onnoghen, has reportedly resigned barely 24 hours after the National Judicial Council (NJC) forwarded the report of its investigation into a petition the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lodged against him to President Muhammadu Buhari for consideration.
Onnoghen who was standing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for alleged non-declaration of assets reportedly sent his resignation letter to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday, April 4.
The CJN’s lawyer, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo who confirmed the resignation to AFP on Friday said “yes, he resigned yesterday” without giving further details.
Although the presidency had been evasive about the receipt of Onnoghen’s letter of resignation, NAN reports that the letter was submitted by some Supreme Court justices to the chief of staff to the president, Mr. Abba Kyari
It was also learnt that the justices who submitted the letter arrived at the presidential villa a few minutes after the president had left Abuja for Jordan to participate in the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
A presidency also source confirmed to NAN that Buhari had, before his departure, received the NJC’s recommendations on the petition written against Onnoghen and the acting CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad.
The report was submitted to the president by his Chief of Staff, Mr. Abba Kyari, who was accompanied by the attorney-general and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, at about 2:20 p.m.
The special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, in his reaction said he was unaware of Onnoghen’s reported resignation
Speaking in an interview on Channels Television’s programme ‘Politics Today’ on Friday, Adesina said he could not confirm at the time if President Buhari was aware of Justice Onnoghen’s reported resignation.
“Is the President aware, I can’t say yet,” Adesina said.
Adesina noted that he, like many other Nigerians, read of the development online, stressing that there had been no confirmation from the NJC or other relevant bodies.
He said he also read a report by Justice Onnoghen’s lawyer confirming that Onnoghen turned in his resignation, adding that he was yet to get a briefing on the matter from Mr. President.
He said he met with his principal earlier today but Onnoghen’s resignation did not come up as a topic for discussion.
“I met with the president earlier today but it was to discuss his presentation at the World Economic Forum here tomorrow, we didn’t talk about either the resignation or not of the CJN,” he said.
Speaking on whether the president got the recommendation from the NJC, Adesina said the papers had the report that the recommendations had been sent.
“However, the attorney general of the federation will be in the best place to give confirmation.
“It is a judicial matter, and the Attorney General is the legal officer of the country, he will be privy to it,” Adesina said.
Meanwhile, a legal practitioner Mr. Afam Osigwe who reacted to the development said: “It was important that the CJN defended himself at the CCT. It was good that he went through the rigours of trial to clear his name from what was published in the social media which were found to have been lies.
“That he resigned to serve the institution is a good development. It was obvious that the executive wanted him out. When the president swore in the acting CJN, he hinted that the judiciary did not cooperate with the executive. He felt that most of the people they expected the judiciary to deal with appropriately were set free on technical grounds.”
