Onnoghen: Why his suspension is legal – Junaid Mohammed

A Second Republic lawmaker, Junaid Mohammed, has reacted to insinuations that President Muhammadu Buhari suspended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen in a bid to rig the forthcoming presidential election.

Speaking with DAILY POST, Mohammed said there was no proof linking Onnoghen’s suspension to the alleged move to rig the forthcoming election.

The lawmaker stated that Onnoghen was not above the law, hence should be suspended since there was a “prima facie evidence’ against him.

Mohammed said: “As far as I’m concerned, there is a prima facie evidence against Onnoghen and when you have such evidence, that is all you need to suspend the CJN, he is not above the law. There is nowhere in the Nigerian constitution that the CJN is above the law.

“If Buhari succeeds in rigging the forthcoming election, it will not be the first time, Obasanjo, Yar’Adua have all done it and successfully got away with it. Until the evidence is clear and incontrovertible, you can’t explain that he was planning to rig the election by suspending Onnoghen.

“Mind you, before Onnoghen was confirmed, there were lots of controversies, the government was very reluctant to swear him in for a number of reasons which were not challenged. If he thinks because he comes from the South-South and is a Senior lawyer, nothing can touch him then that is sheer nonsense.

“If he thinks he is above the law because he is a lawyer and has risen to the height of the CJN, then we are talking nonsense and this is anarchy and such can never exist side by side with democracy.”