S’Court’s seven-man bench hears Senate’s suit against Onnoghen’s suspension Tuesday

Our reporter learnt on Saturday that the suit, being a constitutional matter, would be heard by a full panel of seven Justices of the Supreme Court. It is expected that the Acting CJN, Justice Tanko Muhammad, would not be on the seven-man bench, but he would be the one to pick the seven Justices of the apex court to hear the suit or assign it to one of the already existing panels. Our correspondent learnt that the Federal Government, through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, had, as of Saturday, prepared its defence and would file it on Monday ahead of the Tuesday’s hearing. “We have been served with the Supreme Court’s hearing notice. Our defence is ready and we will file it on Monday,” one of the sources, who pleaded not to be named, told one of our correspondents on Saturday. The Senate’s lawyer, Mr. Paul Erokoro (SAN), could not be reached on Saturday, as his phone was switched off. President Muhammadu Buhari had, on January 25, suspended Onnoghen on the basis of an ex parte order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal where the Federal Government had charged the CJN with six counts of non-declaration of assets. The President had immediately sworn in the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Muhammad, as the Acting CJN. But the Senate had, in its suit filed on January 28, and marked SC.76/2019, asked the apex court to declare Onnoghen’s suspension, which was without the support of two-thirds majority of the Senate, was a violation of Section 292(1)(a)(i) of the Constitution. It asked Supreme Court for an order reinstating Justice Onnoghen as the CJN. The suit also asked the apex court to issue an order restraining the two defendants in the suit – President Buhari and the AGF, Mr. Abubakar Malami – from continuing or repeating the violation of the Constitution and disregarding the power of the Senate in respect to the suspension of the CJN The Senate, through its lawyer, Erokoro, argued that the President could not, on the directive of the CCT, suspend the CJN without the two-thirds majority of the Senate or appoint Muhammad as the Acting CJN without Senate’s confirmation.]]>