The Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, AYCF, has faulted the “rush” by President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to prosecute the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen.
In an interview with DAILY POST, on Wednesday night, the President General of AYCF, Shettima Yerima, said the rush by the Buhari government to prosecute Onnoghen has left Nigerians with the thought of a plot to rig the forthcoming presidential election.
Buhari had last week suspended Onnoghen and immediately appointed Tanko Mohammed as the acting CJN.
Explaining his reason, the President said he suspended Onnoghen, following an order from the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, asking him to wield the big stick.
Reacting, Shettima said despite the rush, due process should be followed in the prosecution of the suspended CJN.
According to Shettima: “I’m one of the few people who believe strongly that due process should be followed because we run a constitutional democracy in Nigeria, so no matter how good the intention is to arrest or prosecute a corrupt person be it the Chief Justice of Nigeria, I think due process is crucial.
“So if there are other ulterior motives and if there is none, naturally, people will begin to think otherwise because the process of government rushing to do the whole thing in less than three weeks to the election has actually given Nigerians reasons to think that government has the intention of rigging the election.
“And why now, when they knew he had an issue long before now? Why did they have to wait until this time when they realised that the election is around the corner and there was need for him to form a panel of judges for the electoral tribunal.
“Looking at this, one can’t rule out that there is a motive behind all of this, despite the good intention. However, due process must be followed because we run a constitutional democracy and the respect to rule of law is keen. The absence of this would look as if we are in banana republic which is not.
“If we run a constitutional democracy, you can’t run the nation like it’s your personal thing. There are processes to all of these. I’m happy that the NJC has taken over the matter, so let’s wait for what will come out of that and the government must also be able to furnish Nigerians with enough evidence.”
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