It’s an act of dictatorship taken too far —Atiku

The Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday described the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria by President Muhammadu Buhari, as an anti-democratic act, which should not be allowed to stand.

“This brazen dictatorial act is the latest action in the ongoing rape of our nation’s hard-earned democracy by those who dined with anti-democratic forces, and is symptomatic of the increasing desperation that President Buhari and the cabal pulling the strings have as February 16, 2019 draws near,” Atiku said on his Facebook wall.

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He added: “The fact that the unlawful suspension of Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen was announced just as it became public knowledge that the CJN was constituting the election petition tribunals is not lost on discerning Nigerians and the international community.

“This act of desperation is geared towards affecting the outcome of the 2019 presidential elections. Indeed, it is not just the CJN that has been ‘suspended’, it is the Nigerian Constitution that has been infracted and, in effect, suspended, under the guise of the suspension of the CJN.

“The case involving the legality or otherwise of the charges against Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen is in court, as it should be. So far, the judiciary has ruled in Justice Onnoghen’s favour. So, why not allow the court to adjudicate on the matter? What is the pressing urgency?