President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday suspended the embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen and immediately swore in an acting CJN who by name is Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed,who is next in ranking to Onnoghen at the Supreme Court.
The January 23,2019 interim order directed Onnoghen to “step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chairman of the National Judicial Council over an allegation of contravening the provisions of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act CAP C15 Laws of the Federation 2004 pending the determination of the Motion on Notice dated 10th Day of January 2019.”
The President has now cited an order of a Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). It also mandated the President to “take all necessary measure to swear the most Senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman National Judicial Council in order to prevent a vacuum in the judicial arm of government pending the determination of the motion on Notice.
