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Romanus Okoye
Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former president of the Nigeria Bar Association, Chief Olisa Agbakoba, has submitted a petition to the Nigeria Judicial Council (NJC), demanding the immediate removal of acting Justice Tanko Mohammadu as a justice of the Supreme Court.
In the petition, Agbakoba said justice Mohammdu was fully aware of the constitutional processes of removing or suspending the Chief Justice of the Nigeria (CJN)which was not followed, yet, presented himself to be sworn in by President Muhammadu Buhari, last Friday, in Abuja.
The petition stated that, “on 25th of January 2019 President Muhammadu Buhari, pursuant to an ex parte order of the Code of the Conduct Tribunal, purportedly suspended the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghnen and purportedly swore in Justice Tanko Mohammed as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“The Constitution is clear about the procedure for suspending or removing the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“The Chief Justice of Nigeria can only be removed on the recommendation of the NJC.
“See section 153 (1), Paragraph 21 (a) of the 3rd Schedule and section 292 (1) (a) (i) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999and the Supreme Court decision in Elelu-Habeeb v AGF (2012) 40 WRN 1.
“Justice Tanko Mohammed is fully aware of the state of law.
“Incidentally, Justice Tanko Mohammed was a member of the NJC panel that removed Justice Obisike Orji of the Abia state High Court for accepting to be sworn in as chief judge by the governor of Abia state without the recommendation of the NJC.
“We pray the NJC to determine this petition, by immediately removing Tanko Mohammed as justice of the Supreme Court on grounds of gross misconduct which has generated, perhaps, the most controversial crisis in Nigeria’s judicial history.”
