ONNOGHEN: I Stand With The Rule Of Law -Atiku

The presidential candidate of the People's Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, has condemned the hurried order by the presidency for embattled Justice Walter Onnoghen to vacate his seat as Chief Justice of Nigeria.

In a press release signed by Paul Ibe, his media aide, Atiku wondered why the hurry to remove Onnoghen when he has yet to be proven guilty, linking that act by the presidency to desperation to win.

He said, "I have received the news of the
sudden charges about to be filed against the Chief Justiceof Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, with apprehension and suspicion especially as such a move against the head of an arm of our government is coming so close to an election in
preparation of which the Buhari administration has shown growing desperation."

Atiku said his suspicions are further exacerbated by the fact that the Buhari government is pressuring an independent and self
governing arm of government with the aim of getting CJN Walter Onnoghen to resign or be pushed aside.

"I stand on the side of the rule of law and believe that a person is innocent until proven guilty. If Justice Walter Onnoghen is guilty of the charges about to be preferred against him, let his guilt be determined by a competent court of law and not by the Buhari administration. The executive cannot usurp the role of the judiciary. Nigeria is still a democracy and not a fascist dictatorship as President Buhari may wish," he said. 

He went on to warn that any attempt to force Justice Walter Onnoghen to vacate his
office, 4 weeks to an election for which the unpopular Buhari administration has shown every intention to manipulate, is a move pregnant with negative.

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