Elder statesman Chief Edwin Clark has accused former President Muhammadu Buhari of oppressing and humiliating former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, to manipulate the 2019 presidential election.
Clark claimed that Buhari, in collaboration with his then Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN), orchestrated Onnoghen’s removal to facilitate their political agenda.
In a letter addressed to the current CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, on Sunday, Clark praised the Court of Appeal for acquitting Onnoghen of false asset declaration charges, a case he described as unjust. He criticized the suspension of Onnoghen, which he asserted violated constitutional provisions that mandate the involvement of the National Judicial Council and the National Assembly in such decisions.
Onnoghen’s Removal and the 2019 Elections
Reflecting on the events leading to the 2019 presidential election, Clark alleged that Onnoghen was targeted to eliminate opposition to alleged election manipulations.
He stated, “As for the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in his own 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).
“At this juncture, let me say this: 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 of a country is just one of the ordinary members in the country, but once elected, enjoys immunity. There is nowhere therefore in the constitution or any legal document where it is stated that immunity is for life.”
Accusations of Corruption and Double Standards
Clark accused Buhari of benefiting from a judiciary that he later undermined. He described it as ironic that Onnoghen, whose 2011 Supreme Court judgement favoured Buhari in a presidential election dispute, became a victim of Buhari’s administration.
He said, “Today in Nigeria, we have corrupt Presidents and some of them today are accusing their successors of corruption without looking back at what they themselves stole while in office but no one dares to touch them.”
He further claimed that Buhari allowed Onnoghen to rise to the post of CJN but schemed to remove him to ensure his re-election in 2019, “If Justice Onnoghen was to remain the CJN, the mess and mischievous things they wanted to carry out during the presidential election in 2019, Justice Onnoghen would not accept it and the best thing was to remove him, and this was the secret plan between President Buhari and his Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami.”
A “Show of Shame”
Clark described the events surrounding Onnoghen’s suspension as disgraceful:
“The show of shame that took place at the time was so disgraceful, callous, unjust and so barbaric that instead the President of Nigeria, who swore to an oath of office that he would maintain security and welfare of Nigerians, chose to stoop so low in order to humiliate a fellow Nigerian because he wanted to be President of Nigeria at all costs for a second term. It is a shame which Nigeria has just recovered from,” he declared.
The elder statesman’s letter serves as a critique of past leadership practices and a call for the current administration to ensure justice, fairness, and adherence to the rule of law in governance.
