Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari.
On Friday, Buhari swore in Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, as the acting CJN in a move that has been widely condemned by Nigerians.
Reacting to the move, Atiku said, “This brazen dictatorial act is the latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard-earned democracy by those who dined with anti-democratic forces, and is symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near.
The fact that the unlawful suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen was announced just as it became public knowledge that the CJN was constituting the election petition tribunals is not lost on discerning Nigerians and the international community.
This act of desperation is geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019 Presidential elections. Indeed, it is not just the CJN that has been “suspended,” it is the Nigerian Constitution that has been infracted and, in effect, suspended, under the guise of the suspension of the CJN.
I want to seize this opportunity to call for unity amongst the judiciary. Do not let the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration divide you. Do not let this government turn you against yourselves. The judiciary is the last hope of the common man and the defender of our democracy