The concluded emergency meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Tuesday, gave Walter Onnoghen, the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, seven days to respond to a petition filed against him.
Onnoghen was suspended by President Muhammadu Buhari, who said he was acting on an order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over non-declaration of assets.
Moreover, the NJC has given Ibrahim Muhammad, the acting CJN, seven days to respond to a petition against him over an alleged breach of NJC rules.
He was accused of making himself available to be sworn in as acting CJN without the approval of the NJC.
The body referred a petition written against Danladi Umar, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) chairman, to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) for action if there is a substance to it.
NJC will now reconvene on February 11, 2019 to discuss further actions against the nation’s top two judicial officers.
The emergency meeting was presided over by Umaru Abdullahi, former president of the Court of Appeal, following the absence of both Onnoghen and Muhammad who are in the eye of the storm.
NJC’S STATEMENT
Soyi Oye, the NJC director of information, issued a statement after the meeting.
He said: “The National Judicial Council held an Emergency Meeting today and considered four (4) petitions filed at its Secretariat. The petitions are: Petition against Hon. Mr. Justice W.S.N. Onnoghen, GCON by Zikhrillahi Ibrahim of Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civil Education; Petition against Hon. Mr. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR by Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative; Petition against Hon. Mr. Justice Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad, CFR by Olisa Agbakoba, SAN, OON; and Petition against Hon. Danladi Yakubu Umar, Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal by Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative.
