Buhari suspends Onnoghen, swears in Tanko Mohammed as new CJN

President Muhammadu Buhari has suspended the chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen and sworn in Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, from Bauchi state, as the new CJN. Tanko Mohammed is the next to Onnoghen in the order of seniority. Buhari said the suspension was based on the order of Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on January 23, 2019.

Onnoghen’s suspension came as result of the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative (ARDI),  a civil society group launched to have the CJN removed. The group had written a petition against him at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The CCB is empowered by the constitution to investigate public officers, after which it would forward its findings to the appropriate body for trial if the allegations are confirmed.

It had listed a number of allegations against Onnoghen — notably false declaration of assets. ARDI said Onnoghen “is the owner of sundry accounts primarily funded through cash deposits made by himself up to as recently as 10th August 2016 which appear to have been run in a manner inconsistent with financial transparency and the code of conduct for public officials”.

The group said its petition, dated January 7, 2019, became necessary bearing in mind the imminence of the 2019 General Elections and the overwhelming roles of the Judicial Arm both before and after. Shortly after, the CCB filed a six-count charge against the former CJN at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) but he failed to appear before the tribunal while his lawyers challenged the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter.

Onnoghen was planning to swear in members of the national assembly, governorship and state assembly election petition tribunals when a new CJN got sworn in. As part of his duties, the new CJN is expected to swear in members of the 2019 national assembly, governorship and state assembly election petition tribunals tomorrow (Saturday 26th January 2019).