The Senate on Monday ordered the discontinuation of the case filed at the Supreme Court on the suspension of Justice Walter Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Special Adviser to Senate President Bukola Saraki, Yusuph Olaniyonu, disclosed this in a statement.
According to him, the decision following the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) on the issue.
Olaniyonu explained that the lawmakers decided to discontinue the case at the apex court in order to give the NJC intervention a chance.
“The Senate has, therefore, decided to discontinue the case it filed in the Supreme Court,” he said. “It should be noted that the case has been slated for hearing tomorrow (Tuesday).
“This decision also affirms the confidence of the Senate in the ability of the NJC to successfully and creditably resolve the issues,” the Senate President’s media aide added.
President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, suspended Justice Onnoghen and appointed Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed as the acting CJN.
The President had explained that his decision followed an order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The President’s decision sparked widespread criticism from individuals and groups within and outside the country.
Lawmakers at the upper chamber of the National Assembly had planned to reconvene but later filed a case at the Supreme Court on the suspension of Justice Onnoghen.
They had sought the interpretation of the court on whether President Buhari acted within the provision of the Constitution in suspending Onnoghen.
The leadership of the APC caucus in the Senate, however, distanced themselves from the suit insisting the that there was no resolution of the upper chamber of the national assembly backing the decision to file the suit.
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