APC national publicity secretary, Mallam Lanre Issa-Onilu, said yesterday in Abuja that reasonable Nigerians knew from the word go that those allegations were not “cooked up” against Onnoghen.
Issa-Onilu said: “Now, events have proven the president right. Events have proved the party right. Those Nigerians who believe Nigeria first and any other things after, events have proven them right.
“We all can only be hiding behind one finger, otherwise we knew, reasonable Nigerians knew, from the word go that those allegations were not cooked up and if they were real, the next thing for the CJN to have done was to have stepped aside.
The APC spokesman further noted that the government was sending the right message that nobody is above the law.
“There is no where in the world where judgment is passed on every sinner at once. It is not every armed robber you can catch the same day. And even some of you know, the slow wheel of justice may not catch up with them immediately but we must continue to see evidence that we are moving towards that sanity, that we are making progressive efforts and sending strong signals to people who think this country must continue as long as they are comfortable and the rest of Nigerians are suffering. We must send that signal to them. It is not going to be business as usual.
“Now, you have seen the head of National Assembly – the Senate President, you have seen him in the dock. Now, you have seen the CJN in the dock. So, one day, we will see a president that will also misbehave in the dock, which now shows that nobody is above the law of this country; that we are all equal before the law. So, anybody who finds himself in any position should now begin to look closely at his own actions knowing full well that today may protect him but tomorrow may expose him,” he added.
While responding the outrage which followed Onnoghen’s suspension, the APC spokesman said: “The issue we have in this country is that many people, especially those who have been part of the impunity of the past are struggling badly to adjust to the reality of the rule of law. That is the major issue we are facing in this country. There is so much struggle to allow the past, that is not good enough for us as a country, to go, and for all of us to rise and face the future of promise, the future of change, so that we can move to the next level.”
He took a swipe at the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for jumping into the fray and turning the CJN’s trial into a political issue, aided by some civil society groups.
“We knew right from the beginning that what the immediate past CJN (that is, if his resignation letter is accepted)… the allegations were too serious and we know that the President does not act on frivolities; he must have done his background checks;, he must have gotten good information to have taken the action he took,” he said.
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