Governor Nasir El-Rufai has described suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen as a “shameless judge”.
The governor said this Friday when some supporters of President Muhammadu Buhari besieged the Kaduna Government House to show solidarity with the president.
Recall that Buhari in January announced the suspension of Onnoghen on orders of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) and appointment of Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed as temporary replacement.
Many opposition figures have criticised the move, accusing the president of trying to intimidate the judiciary.
Addressing the crowd, El-Rufai said, “In Kaduna state, we do not support injustice. In Kaduna state, we are 100 per cent, behind the integrity of our president.
“I can assure you that the message you have given to me will be delivered to the president today… The worst form of corruption you can find in any public servant is judicial corruption because when the president is corrupt or the governor is corrupt, it is to the judge that ordinary people can take their case to.
“When the judge himself is corrupt, it is the highest form of corruption and must never be condoned.
“Mr President did not remove Onnoghen from office. He said in honour of the judiciary, he should step aside so that the charges against him can be investigated and prosecuted. The president did the right thing by asking him to step aside pending investigation. It is what is done in every organised and civilised society.
“Unfortunately, some people in Nigeria are trying to make white black and black, white. They are using technicalities to delay bringing this man to justice. The man (Onnoghen) is shameless, he does not want to go, but it is time for Nigerians to come all out and tell him he must go. Our judiciary must be clean. Our judiciary must consist of judges who cannot be bought.”
El-Rufai said that Onnoghen must be richer than Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for claiming that he had forgotten about the bank accounts which he was accused of failing to declare.
“The case of Justice Onnoghen is the case in which somebody who has worked in government for the past 20 years. Suddenly, he has millions of dollars in his account.
“He has admitted but said he has forgotten about them, which means he has more money than Aliko Dangote because I do not think Dangote will forget $1 million in his account,” El-Rufai said.
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