29th January, 2019
A constitutional lawyer, Mr Paul Eshiamomoh, has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), to approach the court and seek legal interpretation of the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Eshiamomoh made the call on Tuesday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
“ The court will interpret whether the President has powers under the law to suspend the Chief Justice of Nigeria, being the head of an arm of government,’’ he said.
On the directive by NBA to lawyers to boycott the courts for two days, starting from Tuesday, Jan. 29 to protest the suspension, he said the directive was in order.
He said that the call by the NBA was aimed at safeguarding the judiciary from future interference by the executive.
Eshiamomoh appealed to litigants to bear with the lawyers, insisting that the rule of law must prevail.
“ This issue is not about Justice Walter Onnoghen, it is about the judiciary and the Nigerian constitution which laid the foundation for the operation of democratic system in Nigeria,’’ he said.