HeadlineCJN Muhammad’s Resignation: Ariwoola Needs to Restore Public Confidence in Apex Court

CJN Muhammad’s Resignation: Ariwoola Needs to Restore Public Confidence in Apex Court

June 27, (THEWILL) – For the second time under the Muhammadu Buhari Administration, a sitting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) has resigned under questionable circumstances. Justice Tanko Muhammad, the 17th Chief Justice of Nigeria, publicly resigned on Monday, June 27, 2022 in circumstances similar to that of his predecessor, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

Previous holders of the highly exalted office had served out their terms and never in the chequered history of the Nigerian judiciary have Nigerians witnessed that revered institution being brought to its lowest ebb as have been the case in the past seven years during the tenure of Onnoghen and Mohammed.

Onnoghen’s resignation in April, 2019 , THEWILL recalls, was mired in politics as his trial before the Code of Conduct Bureau on allegations of financial inducement to pervert justice, money laundering and political involvement with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did not run its full course before he submitted his letter of resignation to President Buhari. He resigned, a day after the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended that he be compulsorily retired for misconduct

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Justice Muhammad, who threw in his resignation on Monday, possibly on health grounds, was also the subject of intense scrutiny for accountability and transparency, following a petition by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court, a week ago.
The CJN’s Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Ahuraka Yusuf Isah, who confirmed the resignation, failed to give details.

Still, Muhammad’s resignation followed the allegations of mismanagement of funds leveled against him by 14 Justices of the Supreme Court.

A week ago, the 14 Justices of the apex court, in a novel move, put up a joint petition, accusing the CJN of poor welfare, unprofessional conduct and job insecurity. Short of calling the CJN a poor finance manager, the aggrieved Justices, in the leaked memo, accused him of diverting funds meant for the smooth running of the Supreme Court.

In a swift reply, Justice Muhammad denied the allegations and blamed the Justices of washing the proverbial dirty linings of the apex court in the public.

But the CJN in a statement by his aide, titled, ‘Re: State Of Affairs In The Supreme Court And Demand By Justices Of The Supreme Court’, denied the allegations. He said, among other things, that the Supreme Court Justices were provided with SUVs, cars and accommodation.

He said in a statement, “Accommodation is being gradually provided for the few that are yet to get. There is none of the Apex Court Justices without an SUV and backup car. If any of them were purchased but refurbished, the external and internal auditors are here in the court to take those that bought them up on it.

“The high cost of electricity tariff and diesel is a national problem. The Chief Registrar might have budgeted for N300 per litre, but diesel is now selling for over N700 per litre and therefore has to find a way around it without even bringing it to the attention of the CJN. But there is no way the generator would be put off if the Court is sitting.

“The amendment of court rules is in the process. It has to be critically reviewed to avoid conflict with the constitution and other extant laws. Not all the CJNs have reviewed the rules in the past.”

In the same vein, Justice Onnoghen had denied all the allegations against him. He said the allegation that he held a meeting in Dubai with the PDP’s Presidential candidate in the 2019 election, Atiku Abubakar, was part of the frame- up to get him out of office for political reasons.

Onnoghen had expressed surprise that the Federal Government, which had all the security details of his movement, failed to produce any convincing facts to prove its allegations against him.

On his trial at the CCT, he expressed shock at the hasty manner with which he was arraigned, even when he was not invited for questioning as required by the law or accused of any wrongdoing.

He had explained that in a bid to get him out of the way, by all means, the Federal Government procured the ex-parte order it relied upon to unlawfully suspend him from office, even when all the parties had already joined issues at the tribunal.

THEWILL recalls that in 2019 the NJC had on February 13 said it was satisfied that corruption allegations against the suspended CJN Onnoghen deserved to be investigated.

The investigative panel had directed the embattled CJN to respond to corruption allegations that the anti-graft agency raised against him.

EFCC had, in its petitions, alleged that Onnoghen received car and monetary gifts from lawyers, some of whom it said had pending cases in court.

More so, the petitioner alleged that Onnoghen had on different occasions received large sums of money in dollars as estacodes.

It insisted that the estacodes, which were handed to him in cash, were above the approved limits.

Following NJC’s directive, Justice Onnoghen, in his response to a query that was issued to him, debunked all the allegations, insisting that he was being unnecessarily witch-hunted.

Contrary to EFCC’s allegation, Onnoghen, said he never received any car gift from Mr. Agi, SAN, saying he bought the car from the lawyer who he said had a car dealership licence in America.

He noted that Agi had also testified before the NJC panel to the effect that he was duly paid for the car.

He insisted that the car was never a gift to sway him to compromise in the discharge of his judicial duties.

Reacting to Justice Muhammad’s resignation, Prof Chidi Odinkalu, former Chairman of the Nigeria Human Rights Commission, said ill health was actually not a sufficient ground for the resignation of the CJN, adding that what the Constitution provides for is removal from office.

He insists that Muhammad could have gone on retirement, but that route was unavailable because he was yet to achieve the retirement age of 70 years. Citing the complaints of the 14 petitioning Justices, he advised the acting Chief Justice, Olukayode Ariwoola, to work to make the court the last hope of the common man, which, he said, eluded the court during Muhammad’s tenure.

A lawyer, Daniel Bwala, thinks that the issues of accountability and transparency raised by the 14 Justices will be on the table of Acting Justice Ariwoola. He expressed hope that Ariwoola would be able to address it to restore public confidence in the apex court and the judiciary.

Reacting to the sudden resignation of the Mohammed, President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Olumide Akpata, in a statement on Monday, wished him quick recovery and a well-deserved retirement.

Akpata noted that “Beyond this, there is near-universal agreement that public confidence in the Judiciary and indeed, the legal profession is at an all-time low.”

He welcomed the appointment of Ariwoola as Acting CJN, pledging to work with him “in cleansing the Augean Stable and addressing the ills that have continued to plague not just the Judiciary but the entire legal profession”.

He called Justice Ariwoola to consider, as a matter of urgency, need for reforms in the Judiciary and to rebuild the almost dissipated confidence that Nigerians have in the Judiciary and the wider legal profession in Nigeria.

Akpata’s statement reads in part : “I have received the news of the resignation, on grounds of ill health, of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Honourable Dr. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR. We thank His Lordship for his lengthy service to the nation, and wish him quick recovery even as we pray for a well-deserved peaceful retirement.

”In the course of previous publications and communications, I have consistently appreciated the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria for the cordial working relationship between the Bar and the Bench under our respective administrations.

”I must do so again today as he bows out. It is however impossible, to consider His Lordship’s retirement in isolation of the recent unprecedented developments at the Supreme Court where 14 Justices of the Court censured the outgone Chief Justice of Nigeria over His Lordship’s handling of their welfare and related issues.

”Beyond this, there is near universal agreement that public confidence in the Judiciary and indeed the legal profession is at an all-time low.

”There is now more than ever the need for urgent reforms in the Judiciary and to rebuild the almost dissipated confidence that Nigerians have in the Judiciary and the wider legal profession in Nigeria.

”These should form the immediate first tasks for Honourable Mr. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, who is expected to now take over as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

”The NBA welcomes the appointment of Honourable Mr. Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and pledges its readiness to work together with His Lordship and the Judiciary in cleansing the Augean Stable and addressing the ills that have continued to plague not just the Judiciary but the entire legal profession.”

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Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.

Amos Esele, THEWILLhttps://thewillnews.com
Amos Esele is the Deputy Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.

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