Vincent Kalu

RIGHT activist, Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, has said that former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, who resigned yesterday, was humiliated and was never given a fair hearing. Ozekhome said, he saw it coming, adding that “there was nothing unusual about it because I predicted it in January that, what the Presidency wanted to do was to tar Onnoghen with the paint brush of shame and odium so as to make him unfit to continue to hold the position of Chief Justice of Nigeria. What he has done, acting under section 306, (1) of the Constitution is to throw in the towel by resigning.”

According to him,“it wasn’t a voluntary resignation because he was mob lynched, he was crucified, he was nailed to the cross, he was tried and convicted through media trial in the public domain; totally humiliated without being given any fair hearing all because they wanted him out as Chief Justice of Nigeria.

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“That is why we saw the CCT doing what it has been doing; that is why a whole Court of Appeal will not deliver judgement in the case argued before it almost one month later; that is why we have the unusual heist in which the case is being pursued; that is why the government will ignore rule of law, fundamental rights of Onnoghen; that is why the NJC is heavily waking up, saying that he was being recommended for retirement, not because of the case before the CCT because that one is subjudice, but because of mere allegations made against him by the EFCC, under which he has never been arraigned , nor tried, nor prosecuted, nor convicted.

“What of these allegations that he received gift of a car worth N7 million and other gifts when his daughter was wedding? These people forgot the provisions of Rule 3 of the Code of Conduct for Judges that judicial officers can receive gifts from friends and relations.”