Buhari Accepts Onnoghen’s Voluntary Retirement , Asks Acting CJN To Appoint Five Supreme Court Justices

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the voluntary retirement of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria effective from May 28, 2019.

This was disclosed in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) Garba Shehu, on Sunday night.

Accepting his resignation on Sunday, the president thanked Onnoghen for his service to the country and wished him well.

Buhari also wrote to the acting CJN Ibrahim Mohammed who succeeded the oust jurist, seeking the appointment of adding Justices for the Supreme Court.

“Pursuant to the provisions of Section 230(2) A&B of the Constitution of the Fed Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended), I am pleased to request that you initiate in earnest the process of appointing additional five Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to make the full complement of 21 Justices as provided by the aforementioned provisions of the Constitution,” the president said in a letter he wrote to the top jurist.

“This is in line with the Government’s Agenda of repositioning the Judiciary in general and Supreme Court in particular for greater efficiency, with a view to reducing the backlogs of appeals pending at the Supreme Court.

“Please accept, your Lordship, the assurances of my highest regards,” the epistle added.

Recall TheNigeriaLawyer in April reported that Onnoghen tendered his resignation a day after the National Judicial Council (NJC) recommended that he be compulsorily retired for misconduct.

Justices Onnoghen, was accused of non-declaration of assets traced to him, was suspended by the president earlier in the year over, weeks the general elections.

The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had filed false assets declaration charges against the former justice at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

He was convicted at the CCT and barred from holding public office for 10 years.