Buhari Believed Rumours I Met Atiku In Dubai – Onnoghen

• Insists his removal as CJN unlawful, illegal

• Says democracy at risk without courageous judges

BY EDMOND ODOK – Immediate Past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen (rtd) says he was unceremoniously removed him from office in 2019 because President Muhammadu Buhari believed and acted on false rumours.

Speaking at the unveiling of a book authored by Chief Ogwu James Onoja (SAN) and titled “Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009, Practice, Procedure, Forms and Precedents” in Abuja on Friday, Onnoghen blamed his travails on rumours about a meeting purportedly held with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, ahead of the 2019 general elections

Opening up for the first time on reasons behind his sack, Justice Onnoghen, who attended the book launch with his wife, said prior to the incident, the Executive arm of government was regrettably awash with insinuations of his closeness to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate, Atiku

The former CJN said though the rumour was thick and spread so fast, there were no strong reasons that warranted his reacting to it since he never travelled to Dubai or held any meeting with anybody, including Atiku concerning the elections.

He said despite the Federal Government having all the machineries to investigate such spurious allegations of the rumoured meeting with Atiku, it sadly failed to do so, and opted to dubiously to go after him and the office of CJN.

Feeling out more facts, Onnoghen said the situation worsened when all of a sudden, his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was prosecuted without his being invited procedurally or accused of any wrongdoing.

According to him, since the government against him was premeditated, an ex-parte application was suddenly brought in during the course of trial even when parties had already joined issues

Onnoghen, while maintaining that his suspension as the CJN was” illegal and unlawful”, said; “Prior to my suspension, I was confronted with no allegation. There were only rumours that I met with Atiku in Dubai. As I am talking here today, I have never met Atiku one on one in my life.

“As if that was not enough, I was also accused of setting free, high-profiled criminals, whereas I ceased to be a High Court Judge as far back as 1978.

“In Supreme Court, I did not sit alone. We sit in panels. In all these rumours and outright accusations, I was not given an opportunity to defend myself.

“Let me make it clear that the office of the CJN was not for Onnoghen, but for all Nigerians who had sworn to guide and protect the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“To say the least, the period of my ordeal was the darkest era in the history of the Nigerian judiciary. As I have said severally, Judicial officers must be courageous.

“And I want to beg all serving judicial officers not to be discouraged by what happened to me in the hands of the Executive arm of the government.

“Emerging Nigerian judges should not go the direction of injustice because without courageous judges and justice , Nigeria is doomed.

“Let me also sound this note of warning that the appointment of judicial officers must never be politicised, otherwise, democracy and democratic governance will be dead.

“During my tenure, the problem of Nigeria was not the Nigerian judiciary, but those who had no regard for the rule of law. We must therefore be committed to the rule of law and dispense justice without fear or favour.

“Truth stands, crush it, it will stand because it is truth”, Onnoghen postulated.

Explaining that the 2019 incident was not the first time he faced cooked up allegations against him, Onnoghen said at a point during former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, a Commission of inquiry was set up where he was indicted of wrongdoings without an invitation to appear before the Commission and defend himself.

He however praised Obasanjo for being a leader with a listening ear who took wise counsel in referring the matter to National Judicial Council (NJC) for review.

The former CJN said the truth eventually surfaced at the NJC which fully resolve all uncleared issues in his favour.

He said going forward, it has become imperative for all Nigerians to stand by the truth because only justice can rescue the country and its democracy from destruction.