The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said the independence of the country’s judiciary was heavily undermined by the unlawful removal of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking at the commencement of the Supreme Court’s 2019/2020 new Legal Year on Monday in Abuja, NBA’s President, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN), condemned the process that led to the untimely exit of the immediate past CJN from the judiciary.
“While at it, we must again deprecate the process that culminated in the retirement of Honourable Justice Onnoghen.
“The process – and we underscore the process because it is the process that has always been the concern of the NBA – showed a brazen external intrusion and interference in the disciplinary processes of the judiciary in a manner that undermined its independence and, by extension, the rule of law.”
Usoro further noted that the process of Justice Onnoghen’s removal was not only contrary to the provisions of the our laws, but also degraded and desecrated the hallowed dignity that attaches to the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
On his part, the CJN, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad decried the attitude of some legal practitioners whom he said, “do not mind throwing their integrity and reputations to the winds by taking cases that they know do not hold ground, but for pecuniary reasons.”
The CJN asserted that Nigeria’s judiciary is not completely independent due to reliance on the executive arm of government for funding.
In an analogy, Justice Muhammad said, “If you say I am independent, but in a way, whether I like it or not, I have to go cap in hand, asking for funds to run my office, then I have completely lost my independence.”
