Buhari sacked me because of a baseless rumour of me having a meeting with Atiku in Dubai - Former CJN, Walter Onnoghen

 Former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen has alleged that he was sacked by President Buhari over a baseless rumour of holding a meeting with ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar in Dubai before the last general elections.

 

Onnoghen expressed disappointment with the presidency's failure to authenticate the rumour before acting on it, despite its huge investigative capacities. 

 

Onnoghen made the disclosure at the public presentation of a book titled: “Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules, 2009: Practice, procedure, forms and precedents,” authored by Ogwu James Onoja (SAN).

 

The Nation reported that Onnoghen who recalled the process leading to his removal, noted that the situation got to its head when all of a sudden his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was put in motion even when he had not been invited or accused of any wrongdoing.

 

He condemned his trial process before the CCT, and further stated that in the course of the trial and when parties had joined issues, an ex-parte application was suddenly brought in and “what followed was my illegal and unlawful suspension as the CJN.”