A pro-democracy
coalition has told President Muhammadu Buhari that the delay in
submitting the name of Justice Nkanu Onnoghen to the Senate for
confirmation as the substantive Chief Justice of Nigeria “is a big test
on the unity of Nigeria.”
The group, Coalition in Defence of
Nigerian Democracy and Constitution, CDNDC, expressed concern that “this
suspicious and deliberate action of the President in delaying the
confirmation process has effectively put the unity of Nigeria on trial.”
President Buhari elected to appoint
Justice Onnoghen as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria on November 10, 2016
for a period of three months; the first to be so appointed in acting
capacity and he currently has less than 20 days to the expiration of the
duration.
The coalition had previously accused the
Nigerian Presidency of trying to ethnicise and politicise the
judiciary, by denying Onnoghen, the first Southerner in 30 years, an
opportunity to enjoy confirmation like all his predecessors to serve as
the CJN.
The coalition in a latest statement by
its Co-Convener, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, warned that “the established
precedence and processes for appointing a substantive CJN must not be
compromised to suit ethnic and political interest.
“We are not unaware that they have been
combing the whole universe to look for something incriminating which
they could use as a cover to stop this courageous judge from becoming
our substantive CJN.
“This same Justice Onnoghen was among
the three Justices that gave a fearless judgement in favour of General
Muhammadu Buhari as the then Presidential candidate of the All Nigerians
Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007. This is a pedigree that should
automatically endear him to Mr. President.
“If he did that, so what could then be the reason for undermining his confirmation process as the CJN like his predecessors?
“We make bold to say that we have gotten
to a point where we must tell ourselves the bitter truth and speak
wisdom to leadership no matter how fragile or sensitive the situation
is.
“If Mr. President thinks a Justice from
the South of Nigeria does not deserve to be the CJN, he should quickly
let us go for a referendum and decide the membership of this nation. We
must stop living in denial and under false pretense of national unity,”
the statement said.
CDNDC urged eminent Nigerians to prevail
on the President not to jeopardise the unity of the country. “Justice
Onnoghen is a Nigerian and he should be allowed to serve like his
predecessors,” the group said.
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