The suspension of President Muhammadu Buhari's Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, violated international human rights standards concerning the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers, said Diego Garcia - Sayan, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers.
The chief justice could preside over any dispute about the outcome of the election. The judiciary in Nigeria has helped to resolve electoral disputes in previous votes, some of which have been marred by violence and rigging. In a statement, Garcia-Sayan said: “International Human Rights Standards provide that judges may be dismissed only on serious grounds of misconduct or incompetence. “Any decision to suspend or remove a judge from office should be fair and should be taken by an independent authority such as a judicial council or a court.”
Garcia-Sayan, who is mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate legal and judicial independence, said that it was incompatible with the independence of the judiciary to dismiss judges without following legal procedures or offering an opportunity to contest the decision. On January 25, President Buhari suspended Onnoghen following an order from the CCT Code of Conduct and replaced him with Ibrahim Tanko Mohammad. “But four courts superior to the tribunal had already ordered a stay of proceedings and the tribunal had previously said it lacked jurisdiction over cases involving judicial officers,” said Garcia - Sayan.
The UN statement shows that some of the judges and the defence lawyers involved in Onnoghen’s case had been subject to serious threats, pressures and interference.
