Some branches of the Nigerian Bar Association, Senior Advocates of Nigeria, lawyers, and Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has called for the probing of the erstwhile Chief Justice of Nigeria, Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad.
A few hours after resigning, they unanimously maintained that the allegations against the former CJN should not be swept under the carpet.
Muhammad’s resignation was made public, on the grounds of ill-health, barely a week after 14 Supreme Court Justices, in a joint petition, levelled grave allegations of maladministration and financial impropriety against him.
Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, said that the resignation of Muhammad was not enough to clear him of the corruption allegations levelled against him by the 14 justices of the Supreme Court.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been told to arrest the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, immediately.
In a statement signed by HURIWA’s national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the group maintained that the retired CJN must not be allowed to walk away freely.
According to Onwubiko, “The resignation of Justice Tanko Muhammad as the Chief Justice of Nigeria is not enough; the EFCC and the ICPC must swing into action, investigate, then if a cause of acton is ascertained, then arrest and prosecute him over the corruption allegations levelled against him by the 14 justices of the Supreme Court if a prima facie evidence exists.
“The investigation and probable prosecution of Tanko, if indicted, will set a precedent that Buhari’s anti-corruption crusade is not a joke, unless it is a joke.”
The first female Chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Makurdi branch, Maimuna Ikwulono, in an interview with journalist, submitted that the allegations against the retired Justice should be investigated “so as to help administration of justice.”
“Nobody can say that those issues raised be swept under the carpet because we are looking for a solution. Certain things are being done that are hampering the justice administration process, that is affecting judicial responsibilities. It is incumbent on the relevant authorities to look into it to have smoother administration of justice”. she said.
Some Senior Advocates of Nigeria also called for the probe of the former CJN. Rasheed Adegoke, SAN, explained that the former CJN should be investigated to set the records straight.
He stated, “If we want to set things right, there’s nothing that says that he should not be probed. If there had been allegations of misdeeds under his administration, the essence of the probe is to ensure that the records are even clean so that people will know what actually transpired.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari who noted that he received the resignation letter of the outgoing CJN with mixed feelings, had conferred upon Muhammed, the national honour of Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger GCON on Monday.