Onnoghen: APC Chieftain Cautions PDP, Saraki Against Inciting Utterances

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, has warned the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and others not to set Nigeria ablaze with their actions over the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

He decried the attacks on President Muhammadu Buhari by opponents of the APC-led federal government within and outside Nigeria. Eze, in a statement he issued in Port Harcourt yesterday,

Eze said that the response of the PDP exposes the party as one that can never divorce itself from its old ways of doing things. He said: “The recent threats by the main opposition actors, particularly leaders and members of the PDP, calling for unspeakable actions against the country and her law abiding citizens, including threats of war and possible overthrow of government, are not only acts of treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but a sin against God and humanity.

“Those in the lead of these allegedly potent threats to the nation’s peace and progress should be marked by all Nigerians as enemies of our collective peace and development.

“Justice Onnoghen was only suspended, as ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction, pending the determination of a grave and criminal charge of corruption filed against him, noting further that it would have amounted to more acts of corruption if the erstwhile chief law officer would be allowed to sit much longer as a judge in his own matter,” he said.

The APC chieftain reiterated that Buhari acted in the best interests of the nation and in fulfillment of one of the cardinal policies of this administration, which is to fight corruption to a standstill.

Eze said: “Besides, Mr. President made a shocking disclosure that millions of dollars were traced to the accounts of the suspended CJN which he refused to disclose as obtainable in the law. “Although the allegations in the petition are grievous enough in themselves, the security agencies have since then traced other suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law.

“Perhaps, more worrisome is the CJN’s written admission to the charges that he indeed failed to follow the spirit and letter of the law in declaring his assets, citing ‘mistake’ and ‘forgetfulness’ which are totally unknown to our laws as defences in the circumstances of his case.

“Under normal practices, one expected that with his moral authority so wounded by these serious charges of corruption, more so by his own written admission, Onnoghen would have acted swiftly to spare our judicial arm further disrepute by removing himself from superintending over it while his trial lasted, Eze said