CUPP said that the plan was finalised during a meeting
chaired by the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi at the
Presidential Villa on Thursday.
The Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) has alleged
that the presidency has finalised plans to arrest the Chief Justice of
Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnogehn.
The CJN has been in the eye of the storm
following a petition written against him, alleging that he did not
declare some of his assets.
Onnoghen was swiftly arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and proceedings reportedly started on Monday, January 14, 2019, in his absence.
According to CUPP, the CCT chairman, Justice Danladi Umar has
been directed by some people in the presidency to ignore a court order
restraining the Federal Government from prosecuting the CJN.
Monday, January 14, 2019, Justice N.E Maha of the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the CCT to halt all proceedings against Onnoghen.
Vanguard reports
that the CUPP also alleged that Justice Umar has been instructed to
issue a bench warrant against the CJN, after which the new
Inspector-General of Police, Mohammad Adamu will move in for his arrest.
The group said that the plan was finalised during a meeting chaired by the minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi at the Presidential Villa on Thursday, January 17, 2019.
CUPP, in a statement signed by its spokesman, Ikenga Ugochinyere also alleged that the presidency has been intimidating members of the National Judicial Commission (NJC) to move against Onnoghen, so that the NJC Deputy Chairman, Justice Mohammed Tanko can be announced as the new CJN.
Read the complete statement obtained from Vanguard below:
It with a heavy heart that we have summoned
you today to notify the world that democracy is in clear and present
danger in Nigeria. The cabal of the Presidency have just concluded a
meeting last night where they have now set the stage to burn down the
institution of democracy and constitutional governance for the purpose
of achieving a narrow aim of annexing the judiciary.
Just few hours after our release of the secret
letter directing the freezing of the account of the CJN illegally
without a Court order, these men have at the end of their meeting last
night directed the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr. Danladi
Umar to disregard the Order of the Federal High Court, Abuja which has
directed the Tribunal to maintain status quo and go ahead to issue a
bench warrant on the next adjourned date being Tuesday the 22nd January,
2019 in the event the CJN does not appear in Court.
The meeting of the Presidency cabal also
resolved and directed the new Ag. Inspector General of Police that the
immediate arrest of the CJN on the same Tuesday as effort will be made
to ensure he is served with the order same day, following the issuance
of the arrest warrant would be his litmus test for his speedy
confirmation as the substantive Inspector General.
They further resolved that another petition
would now be forwarded to the National Judicial Council and that
petition has already been drafted in the Chambers of a Senior Advocate
of Nigeria. This petition will precede the other frivolous and trumped
up allegations which will be submitted against Justice Mary Peter-Odili,
Justice Cletus Nweze and Justice Rhodes Vivour just to scare them away
and tarnish their good names.
Those in the meeting were Rotimi Amechi, Nasir
El-Rufai, Abubakar Malami, Boss Mustapha, and the Senior Advocate of
Nigeria working with Rotimi Amechi who drafted the petition. The
President is aware of this plot as the meeting rose with the resolution
that Rotimi Amechi and El-Rufai would go to brief the President
immediately.
The President has weaponized his failed fight
against corruption. The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal was
once again reminded of his pending criminal charges and conscripted that
as long as he issued the arrest warrant nobody will move against him.
Nigerians, the said charges against the Chairman of the Tribunal has
already been filed and is being handled by the Spokesman of the Buhari
Campaign Organization, Mr. Festus Keyamo. This is a copy of the charge
already filed.
The plan on Tuesday to get Danladi Umar to
issue a bench warrant against the CJN; the plan on Tuesday to get the
Ag, IGP to arrest the CJN and the plan on Tuesday to forcibly arraign
the CJN are solely aimed at forcing the CJN out of office hence paving
the way for a well-known pro-Buhari Judge, Justice Tanko Mohammed who is
the Deputy Chaiman of the NJC to take over and do all their bidding.
Let it be known that unless and until the CJN
is found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction, he will not
resign! Know ye all men and let the lips of the opposition be read
clearly; and let the ears of President Muhammadu Buhari open and hear
this: Amechi, Malami, El-Rufai, Boss Mustapha and other members of the
cabal that are sponsoring this inglorious offensive against the
judiciary in a bid to turn it into an appendage of the APC will fail. We
will resist this attempt.
This is the bridge and it must not fall, we
cannot retreat beyond this point and Justice Walter Onnoghen will not be
illegally removed from office. God forbid! God forbid!! God forbid they
succeed.
They want to force him out at all cost and put
an acting CJN who’s bidding will include setting up appeal panels to
resolve the Rivers and Zamfara APC crisis in favour of the APC and the
other States where they fear they will lose elections including Akwa
Ibom State, Delta State, Lagos state, Benue State, Imo State, Kwara
State, Plateau state, Kaduna State, Abia State and Sokoto State and also
constitute a pro Buhari post presidential election Tribunal.
The CJN may not speak out because of the
demands of his office but we will not as the opposition, the bearers of
the conscience and consciousness of the Nigerian people keep quiet and
allow these felons to desecrate the Nigerian judiciary.
The only way the CJN can leave office is by
Section 292 of the Constitution or by a proper conviction and not by
stepping aside from the NJC. We are shouting it from the roof tops; let
them put the CJN in handcuffs, let Danladi Umar in dancing to the tune
of his APC blackmailers and issue arrest warrant, let the IG dance to
the tune of the litmus test of arresting the CJN, let the APC funded
petition be brought to the NJC, Justice Onnoghen will not be forced out
of office.
President Buhari! President Buhari! President
Buhari! It is time to apply your brakes! Do not allow your political
children who learnt their politics from the manual of Mobutu Seseseko,
Idi Amin and Nkurunzizia lead you to burn down and destroy the
institution of the judiciary and burn down Nigeria. It is on that note
that we call on Justice Tanko Mohammed to stay away from these people
and refuse that poisoned chalice that will destroy permanently the
institution of the judiciary.
Furthermore, there is also an ongoing pressure
on the members of the NJC and moves to conscript them to force the CJN
out of office. Nigerians must rise now before this final bridge of the
semblance of constitutional governance falls. Once again we shout; if
you are sleeping- wake up; if you are eating- stop; if you are playing-
stop; the enemies have gotten to the last bridge and it is either we
stop them or we lose our country.
We must all stand up now. The court is the
last hope of the common man, if they take over we shall be made slaves
in our fatherland and the fundamental rights of citizens will become
luxury.
We call on the Nigeria Bar Association to take
up this matter and speak on behalf of the Bench. Progressive and
conscious lawyers should all march to the Tribunal on Tuesday and stand
shoulder to shoulder with the opposition to salvage the conquest of the
judiciary from anti-democratic forces
We weep, Nigerian people weep, not because of
what they are doing but because of the silence of men of goodwill who
have now been made to live in fear in their own country and because of
the long term implication on our country’s democracy. How we have used
our hands to put our country into trouble. Where did we go wrong? Why?
Who did Nigeria offend? It was Saraki yesterday!
It was Dino! It was Deji Adeyanju! Justice
Ademola! It was peaceful citizens protesting! Now they are not afraid of
anything or anybody, they are now after the CJN and the sacred
institution of the judiciary and they want to destroy everything. Buhari
why? Amechi why? El-Rufai why? Why? Nigerians have we like the
President’s wife said allowed two or three people to hijack the
Presidency and we are busy licking their shoes? Wherever Azikiwe,
Awolowo, Tafawa Balewa are now, they will be writhing in pain as this is
not what the planned for Nigeria.
Meanwhile, prominent lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome has described the trial of Justice Onnoghen as political witch-hunting.