By Williams Anuku, Abuja
Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen on Friday broke his silence on why President Muhammadu Buhari led APC government unceremoniously removed him from office in 2019.
Onnoghen, at a book launch he attended with his wife on Friday, revealed that prior to his removal, there had been rumour from the Executive that he held a meeting with former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, preparatory to the 2019 general elections.
Onnoghen spoke at the unveiling of a book titled ‘Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, Practice, Procedure, Forms and Precedents’, authored by a renowned legal luminary, Chief Ogwu James Onoja, SAN.
The former CJN said he was surprised that in spite of the fact that the Federal Government had all the machinery to investigate the allegation of the rumoured meeting with Atiku, it never did so, but opted to unlawfully go after him and his office.
Onnoghen said the rumour was thick and spread fast, but he decided not to react to it because he never travelled to Dubai or held any meeting with anybody, including Atiku.
Onnoghen said that the situation climaxed when suddenly, his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal was stage-managed, even when he had not been invited or accused of any wrongdoing.
The action of the government, according to Onnoghen, got to the peak when in the course of the trial and when parties had joined issues, an ex-parte application was suddenly brought in, and what followed was his illegal and unlawful suspension as the CJN.
“Prior to my suspension, I was confronted with no allegation.
“There were rumours that I met with Atiku in Dubai. As I am talking here today, I have never met Atiku one on one in my life. As if that was not enough, I was also accused of setting free, high-profile criminals, whereas I seized to be a High Court Judge as far back as 1978.
“In the Supreme Court, I did not sit alone. we sit in the panel. In all these rumours and outright accusations, I was not given the opportunity to defend myself.
“Let me make it clear that the office of the CJN was not for Onnoghen but for all Nigerians who had sworn to guide and protect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“To say the least, the period of my ordeal was the darkest era in the history of the Nigerian judiciary.
“As I have said severally, Judicial officers must be courageous. And I want to beg all serving judicial officers not to be discouraged by what happened to me in the hand of the Executive arm of the government” Justice Onnoghen stated.
He advised upcoming judicial officers to be brave and courageous.
“Emerging Nigerian judges should not go the direction of injustice because, without courageous judges and justice, Nigeria is doomed.
“Here, let me sound this note of warning that the appointment of judicial officers must never be allowed to be politicized, otherwise, democracy and democratic governance will be dead.
“During my tenure, the problem of Nigeria was not the Nigerian judiciary, but those who had no regard for the rule of law. We must therefore be committed to the rule of law and dispense justice without fear or favour.
“Truth stands, crush it, it will stand because it is truth, Onnoghen added.
He said his ordeal in 2019 was not the first, adding that at a point during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime, a Commission was set up and that he was indicted of wrongdoing, even when he was not invited or a appeared before the Commission to defend himself.
Onnoghen however said because former President Obasanjo was a leader who listened to advice, the matter was referred to the National Judicial Council NJC for review.
He said at the Council, the truth surfaced and it was upheld to resolve uncleared issues.
