Resign to save judiciary, El-Rufai tells CJN

AGovernor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has said, with the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen admitting he forgot to declare some bank accounts in his asset declaration form; the most honourable thing for him is to resign.

The governor, who also faulted claims in some quarters that the CJN’s arraignment at the Code of Conduct Tribunal was wrong, said the National Judicial Council is not a self-appointed court.

Besides, he also insisted that the Court of Appeal judgement being commonly referred to in this regard was being misrepresented and misinterpreted by lawyers and some others.

Governor El-Rufai made the positions known while featuring on Sun Rise Daily, a Channels Television’s breakfast show, monitored by Blueprint in Abuja, yesterday.

Onnoghen was, on Monday dragged to the Code of Conduct Tribunal on a six-count charge bordering on non-asset declaration.

Although, the CCT adjourned sitting following the CJN’s non-appearance, a Federal High Court, and the National Industrial Court, both sitting in Abuja, restrained the tribunal from going ahead with the matter.     

Fielding questions on Channels Television yesterday, El-Rufai berated his colleagues in the South-South over their position that the CJN was being witch hunted.

On S/South govs’ position

The governor said he was dismayed by “the statements by the governors of the South-south, justifying that not declaration of assets is nothing, it is a no issue because the Chief Justice of Nigeria is from the South-south.

“This is the sort of thing we see. Wrong is wrong, right should be right, and leaders should advance that.”

Restructuring of mind

Asked if his position on restructuring had changed, the governor said:”It has not. I presented a paper at the Bisi Akande colloquium on restructuring. I believe that we should look at our federationConstitutional restructuring is one thing, restructuring our minds to be objective about what is right is another.

“I am extremely sad about this Chief Justice matter. If I am the Chief Justice, and write and say, yes I have these bank accounts, but I did not declare them, I will not even allow the CCB to file charges, I will resign there and then to protect the institution. Because the admission that I did not declare my assets, that infraction alone is enough for me to step down and protect the institution.

“All these court orders and lawyers are not helping the judiciary or the legal practice, and not helping Nigeria.”

Procedures

On the issue of procedure raised by some critics of the federal government on the arraignment, El-Rufai said, “they are wrong. I think again, depending on which side you want to be, Nigerians can be morally flexible. The constitution is clear–as far as the violation of the code of conduct of a public office is concerned, the only institution allowed to investigate violations in the Code of Conduct Bureau, the only institution allowed exclusively is the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“The case they are referring to is the case of judicial misconduct; it is the case of a judge that violated the code of conduct of judges and was taken to court because the disciplinary committee of judges is vested by the same constitution of the NJC.

“So if a judge engages in judicial misconduct, in the course of his duty as a judge, you should first send him to NJC, because it is easier for judges to determine if his conduct is above or below the standard before referring him to a regular court?

“Concerning the judge’s decision in that case, on page 19 of the judgement, the judge said obiter, by the way, that if the judge commits fraud or murder or so on, he will be referred not to NJC but to a regular court. People should go and read page 19 of the judgement because I have it. All the arguments being made that it should first go to the NJC is wrong.

“For violations of the code of conduct, it has to go to no other authority but the Code of Conduct Tribunal, that is, violation of the code of conduct for public officers, not the code of ethics for judges. In the samecase I am seeing, the lead judgement said this judge ought to have been taken to NJC.

“However, if a judge engages in fraud, dishonesty, murder and other regular crimes, he will be referred to court not NJC. People are reading that judgement to mean that if a judge walks into your house, kills your wife, rapes your daughter, and walks out, he cannot be arrested and taken to a regular court but to the NJC–his own peers determining that he should be tried. No, that is wrong. It means that you are creating a special court for judges, and judges are above the law. That cannot be the intention of the law or the constitution.

“My concern is that Nigerian elite should have a consensus about the sanctity of institutions. We should all protect our institutions even when they seem to be against us.

“As far as I am concerned, the assets of public officials should be published. Everyone should publish his assets declaration. The president has published his as far as I know, and the vice president when they took office. My own Code of Conduct forms are already in the public domain.”

On the recent media report that President Muhammadu Buhari was ignorant of Onnoghen’s planned arraignment until Saturday, the governor said, it should even be a compliment that Buhari was not in the know.

“Why should the president know about the prosecution of anyone? Let us please stop personalizing institutions. Won’t you be worried if the president is worried about prosecution? Institutions should be allowed to function. I am the governor of Kaduna state, the constitution requires that I declare my assets before being sworn in, also the constitution states this specifically, in plain language. This is not law, we don’t need law to tell us this,” he added.

Continuing, he said, “saying that the president doesn’t know, I think it is a compliment to the president; it shows that he does not interfere with institutions and doesn’t get involved in it. What is right is right and what is wrong, is wrong, and I think we should stand up for that, we should seize being ethnic and religious, otherwise this country will not go anywhere.

“The man has admitted that ‘I did not declare my asset, I forgot’. If the matter was simply that the Code of Conduct Bureau has made an allegation and filed charges in the tribunal, I will presume innocence, but I have seen a written statement by the Chief Justice saying that “…yes I have these accounts, yes I did not declare them, but I forgot”. Forgetting is not a defense in law.

“The constitution is very clear, if the matter has to do with Code of Conduct of public officers, the only court, the only tribunal vested with the power to file the violations of that code is the Code of Conduct Tribunal. It can try anyone, including the President.

“The NJC is supposed to take petitions on the professional misconduct of Judges; if a judge kills or steals, it is not NJC, it is the regular court. You cannot say the NJC is a self-appointed court, a special court that will first have to clear judges before they go to regular court.

“It is saying that judges have immunity that the constitution has not contemplated. It is only the President and the governors that have immunity in the constitution.

“For me that is not even the issue, the issue is this, the Code of Conduct for public office requires you to declare your assets – all of us, have you declared your assets? Yes! Have you declared all your assets? No, I have not! The Chief Justice has admitted it; his defense is “I have forgotten”; that is not a defense in law.”

Court restates order

Meanwhile, legal battle continued yesterday, as Justice Evelyn Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja, restated her order stopping the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and others from proceeding with the planned arraignment of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

She renewed the order at the resumed hearing of the suits brought by two groups, challenging the propriety of the six-count charge brought against the CJN before the CCT by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

The suits are; FHC/ABJ/CS/27/2019, filed by the Incorporated ‎Trustees of the Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative (CJPI), while the other is FHC/ABJ/CS/28/2019, brought forward by the Incorporated ‎Trustees of the International Association of Students Economists and Management (IASEM).

CJPI listed the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), CCT Chairman, the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Senate President, all as defendants.

The defendants in the second suit include; the AGF, the CCT Chair, the CCT, the CCB, the Chairman of CCB, and the IGP.
When the first case came up for mention yesterday, counsel to the plaintiff,  Rafiu Lawal-Rabana, SAN, recalled that at the last sitting on January 14, 2019, the court adjourned to January 17 for hearing of the plaintiff’s motion on notice.

Lawal-Rabana told the court that  all the defendants had been served with the processes filed by the plaintiff, as well as the enrolled order of the court’s ex-parte ruling of January 14, 2019, saying only Senate President Bukola Saraki were yet to be served.

To this end, the counsel pleaded with the court for a short adjournment to enable the plaintiff serve the Senate President as required.

The National Judicial Council, represented by its counsel, Dr. Garba Tetengi, SAN, was the only respondent that attended yesterday’s hearing.

Tetengi, who confirmed he had been served the court process, said he had no objection to the request for a short adjournment.

In her ruling, Justice Maha held that the processes served on the respondents were not accompanied with certificate itemising each of the processes served on each of the respondents.

She ordered the plaintiff to regularise the service and ensure that the Senate President was served.

Consequently, the trial judge adjourned the two matters till January 28 for hearing.

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