Elder statesman Edwin Clark has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of oppressing and humiliating former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, to secure his re-election in 2019.
Clark alleged that Buhari, alongside his then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), orchestrated Onnoghen’s removal to clear the way for their political agenda during the elections.
In a letter addressed to the current CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on Sunday, Clark commended the Court of Appeal for acquitting Onnoghen of the false asset declaration charges, describing the case as unjust. He criticized the manner of Onnoghen’s suspension, asserting it violated constitutional provisions requiring the involvement of the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly.
Reflecting on the 2019 elections, Clark claimed Onnoghen’s removal was a calculated move to eliminate opposition to alleged manipulations.
“As for the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in his case, ‘a Daniel has come to judgment.’ I knew he was not fairly treated; he was oppressed and humiliated by President Muhammadu Buhari and his Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN).”
Clark urged the current administration to ensure accountability: “President Tinubu’s government must not allow sacred cows to exist in Nigeria, no matter whose ox is gored. There is no one who is above the law in his own country. A president is just an ordinary member of the country who, once elected, enjoys immunity. There is nowhere in the constitution or any legal document where it is stated that immunity is for life.”
He expressed dismay over past leadership, adding: “Today in Nigeria, we have corrupt Presidents, and some of them are accusing their successors of corruption without reflecting on what they themselves stole while in office. But no one dares touch them.”
Clark also noted the irony of Onnoghen’s ordeal: “Perhaps, it is an irony of fate for the former CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, who was one of the Supreme Court Justices whose judgment favoured President Muhammadu Buhari in his presidential election case in the Supreme Court in 2011.”
He alleged that Onnoghen’s removal was premeditated: “He (Buhari) allowed him to rise to the post of CJN, but he saw that, that was not good enough for him. Because if Justice Onnoghen remained the CJN, the mess and mischievous things they wanted to carry out during the presidential election in 2019 would not have been accepted by him. The best thing was to remove him, and this was the secret plan between President Buhari and his Attorney General.”
Clark described the episode as a low point in Nigeria’s history, stating: “The show of shame that took place at the time was so disgraceful, callous, unjust, and barbaric. The President, who swore an oath to uphold the security and welfare of Nigerians, stooped so low to humiliate a fellow Nigerian just to secure a second term. It is a shame which Nigeria has just recovered from.”
