Onnoghen: ‘Senate’ withdraws case at Supreme Court, after Senate Leader exposed case filed on Saraki’s unilateral decision

The source, who spoke to us on the matter however called on President Buhari and the rest of Nigerian masses who are now the major strength of the government plus the security agencies to put Saraki, PDP leaders and all the judges under watch as, according to him, Saraki’s preference for NJC against CCT on Onnoghen is suspicious.

The purported case, against the suspension of Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Nkanu Samuel Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari, filed at the Supreme Court by the Senate of the Federal Republic last week has been withdrawn.

The decision to withdraw the case was taken on Monday, few days after Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, had exposed Senate President Bukola Saraki on a Good Morning Nigeria programme of Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) that the decision to go to Supreme Court over the suspension of the CJN was a unilateral decision by him.

Saraki’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, had penultimate Sunday issued a statement informed that the Senate had cancelled planned convening of emergency session to attend to some pressing national issues and that the red chamber would be going to Supreme Court to contest the CJN’s suspension by President Buhari.

But Senator Lawan advised Saraki in his own interest to withdraw the apex court case, warning that it was wrong for him to have unilaterally decided on such a shameful matter and still name it on the institution of Senate, which he said was not so.

It will be recalled that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege had threatened days before the planned emergency meeting that should Saraki behave funny on the said Tuesday, last week, he should be dealt with. 

While the House of Representatives held its own emergency during which a public hearing ratifying the new national minimum wage bill was heard and passed thereafter, it was generally believed that the fear of being removed from his undeserving position of Senate President was why Saraki cancelled the same emergency meeting holding at the Senate under his leadership. 

Saraki, member of minority party with a minority leader still being of his party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued to hold on to office as Senate President since he defected from the majority party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to the PDP.

President Buhari had penultimate Friday January 25 suspended the CJN, Onnoghen, acting on the experte order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to clear the Judiciary of moral complications bothering on Onnoghen’s corruption related offences and failure to properly declare his assets to the Code of Conduct of Bureau (CCB), to which he admitted but refused to step aside.

Announcing the case pro-Onnoghen case from Supreme Court on Monday in Abuja, the Saraki’s SA Media and Publicity, Olaniyonu, rather said the discontinuation of the case followed the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) on the matter. The case was slated for hearing at the apex court on Tuesday.

The decision, according to him, “affirms the confidence of the Senate in the ability of the NJC to successfully and creditably resolve the matter.

The DEFENDER learned that Senate under Saraki was routing for NJC handling of the Onnoghen’s case that should be the constitutional responsibility of CCT because of an alleged deal between him, his party, PDP, and some corrupt judges in the Council believing that, after Onnoghen, there would still be some of his loyalists who would do the bidding of him and his party.

The source, who spoke to us on the matter however called on President Buhari and the rest of Nigerian masses who are now the major strength of the government plus the security agencies to put Saraki, PDP leaders and all the judges under watch as, according to him, Saraki’s preference for NJC against CCT on Onnoghen is suspicious.

Onnoghen was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday January 25 on the order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) where the CJN is facing trial for alleged false asset declaration.

Buhari immediately swore in Justice Tanko Muhammed, the most senior justice of the Supreme Court, as acting CJN.

The president’s action sparked criticisms from some Nigerians, including the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who dismissed the suspension as unconstitutional.

Four days later, Saraki said the Senate had filed a case at the Supreme Court to challenge the president’s action, a move disowned by the APC caucus led by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan.

Rising from an emergency meeting on the matter on Tuesday, the NJC gave Onnoghen and Muhammad seven working days to respond to petitions written against them.

Appalling many have said, despite the fact that NJC was still handling his corruption allegations expecting him to answer some queries under seven days, Onnoghen still fuming continued to make moves to evade justice in a way that put him up like a judge considering himself to be bigger than the law.

But again, last week Thursday January 30, a Court of Appeal in Abuja to which the suspended had run to void his trial at the CCT told him that he has a case to answer and that he should rather go and face his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.