Allow Rule of Law to Prevail, Onaiyekan Tells Buhari

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The Archbishop of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the rule of law prevail in the matter involving the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen.

Speaking with journalists in Abuja on the eve of his 75th birthday anniversary, the clergy said it is wrong for anyone to undermine the Constitution of Nigeria which is the basis of the Nigerian nation.

Onaiyekan while reacting to the suspension saga said: “One thing is certain, the action taken if you approve it or not has created a lot of bad blood, created a lot of dust in our political atmosphere.

“What I am trying to say is that something has happened that should not have happened at all. Let nobody tell me that the rule for removing a chief justice of the federation is not clear,” he said.

Onaiyekan said that the situation is giving the impression that Nigeria does not have a clear law, adding that this is not good for the country.

“If it is so unclear with the judiciary, what will happen to the legislature? Since the executive has the ownership of power including military power they obviously have an edge over the other two arms of government, but the entire system cannot stand unless the three are standing well.

“My hope is that with the amount of ingenuity Nigerians have and all these great legal luminaries in no time within the next week or so, we will arrive at some conclusion which will enable the country to move forward on this matter.

“But I think we should decide what our law says and we should hold everybody accountable to obey the law. Even President Muhammadu Buhari must follow the law,” he said.