Onnoghen has been accused of failing to declare his assets as required by law and also maintaining several domiciliary accounts with different foreign currencies.

The CJN is expected to be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Monday, January 14, 2019.

PDP’s reaction

The PDP, in its reaction, accused President Buhari and the APC of planning to replace Onnoghen with somebody who can do their bidding ahead of the elections.

The PDP chairman, Uche Secondus issued a warning to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies against rigging the upcoming elections.

Also, PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar said that Nigerians will resist any attempt to intimidate the judiciary.

Atiku called on Buhari not to take laws into this hands, adding that the alleged move to remove the CJN shows the desperation of the government.

PDP loves corruption

Reacting to the PDP’s claims, the spokesman of the ruling APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu said PDP and corruption are like Siamese twins.

According to Vanguard, he said “Following reports of the move to prosecute Justice Walter Onnoghen, Chief Justice of the Federation, over an alleged infraction on the Code of Conduct laws, the swift statement by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) condemning the purported move has again exposed the Party as one with a natural inclination to rise up in defence of cases of alleged corruption.

“PDP and corruption are Siamese twins that are difficult to separate from each other. One would have thought that the PDP will call for impartial investigations when corruption cases are levelled against public officers, but spinning falsehoods and conspiracies remains the opposition party’s favourite past time.

 “The fight against corruption remains a cardinal promise made by the APC to the electorate. We assure the PDP and indeed all Nigerians that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration remains uncompromising in its determination to rid the country of this malady. 

“As noted on many occasions by President Buhari, it is only those who have committed crimes that need to worry. The APC administration will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute any public officer if and when such is indicted for corruption.

“Achieving acceptable elections in all democratic climes is a collective effort which require the contributions and support of all well-meaning Nigerians, political parties, institutions and sundry interests. 

“Commendably, in successive elections conducted under the APC administration, the Party has played by the rules, which has led to credible elections. This cannot be said of the PDP era when state institutions were deployed to manipulate the electoral process.

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 “The PDP’s baseless conspiracy theory on APC’s participation in the 2019 general elections should hereby be disregarded. We remain solidly committed to ensure that the forthcoming election go on record as one of the freest, most credible and peaceful elections in the country.”

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome has described the plan to arraign Justice Walter Onnoghen as political witch-hunting.