The Supreme Court has rejected a request to review the circumstances leading to the exit of the immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen and pronounce on the propriety or otherwise of his removal following an ex-parte order issued by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

A panel of the court, led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, on Monday, struck an application filed on behalf of the former CJN by one Dr. N. S. Nwawka, in which he sought the court’s to among others applied for the determination of some constitutional questions relating to Onnghne’s removal and the roles played by the current CJN, Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, the National Judicial Council (NJC), among others.

One of the constitutional questions Nwawka had sought the court’s answer was whether the Federal Government, the NJC and the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOS) ought not to dismiss and prosecute Malami, Muhammad and two members of the CCT “for the treasonable action of unconstitutional overthrow of Onnoghen from the office of the CJN contrary to sections 1(2) and 292(1) of the Constitution.”

The members of the CCT listed in the motion, marked: SC/1206/2019 are Danladi Umar and Julie Anabor, who he claimed granted an unlawful ex-part order, on which basis Onnoghen was removed from office.

Nwawka had also prayed the court to determine whether the 1st to 6th respondents allegedly involved in the removal of Onnoghen “by means of an ex-parte order of the CCT does not amount to treasonable conduct, having regard to the clear provisions of sections 1(2) and 292(1) of the Constitution.”

Listed as the 1st to 6th respondents were: the Federal Government, Malami, Muhammad, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Muhammed Isah, Umar and Anabor.

Nwawka said his decision to approach the Supreme Court for the determinations of the constitutional quests he raised was informed by the refusal of the two lower courts -the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal in Abuja to hear similar applications he had filed before them.

When the case was called on Monday neither Nwawka nor his lawyer was in court. All the nine respondents were also not represented in court, following which Justice Rhodes-Vivour ruled that the motion be struck out for want of diligent prosecution.