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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has decided to launch a two-day warning boycott against all Nigerian courts as a result of the suspension of the country's highest judge, Walter Onnoghen.
The badociation made the decision at its emergency meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, The Cable News reported in Nigeria.
Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, suspended Onnoghen on Friday and replaced him with Acting Chief Justice Ibrahim Muhammed Tanko, several weeks before an election in which the judiciary could play an important role.
The Chief Justice was to be tried for allegedly failing to declare his badets, which, according to Onnoghen, is without merit. But it was postponed indefinitely Monday, said the president of the court in charge of the code of ethics.
On Friday, the main opposition candidate, Atiku Abubakar, called the president's ruling "dictatorship act".
The NBA and local civil society groups staged protests in Abuja and southeastern Enugu to reject Onnoghen's suspension, calling it "an attempted coup d'etat against the system". Nigerian judiciary ".
Onnoghen helped resolve electoral disputes in previous elections, some of which were marked by violence and electoral fraud. The Chief Justice could preside over a disputed election result.
Members of @NigBarAssoc have launched their rally today, at the NBA headquarters, in Abuja, against the suspended chief justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice S.W.N Onnoghen of the President @ Mbhari @Abuja_Facts @lawalhab @Nigerialawyers @LegalNaija pic.twitter.com/LcFPzkbKKA
– Call to Bar Naija (@CallToBarNG) January 28, 2019
Buhari did nothing wrong
Critics say the suspension is Buhari's effort to weaken the Nigerian judicial system and pave the way for his second term in the Feb. 16 vote.
In the midst of growing criticism, the Nigerian Minister of Information has denied that the suspension is tied to elections.
Minister Mohammed Alhaji Lai said it had "nothing to do with the upcoming elections" and "did not mean the beginning of dictatorship or tyranny, as some have hinted".
The Chief Justice plays a key role in any court challenge of a vote that could be challenged.
The United States, Britain and the European Union said that Buhari acted "without the support of the legislature". The United States warned that the suspension could "throw a veil over" the elections.
On Monday, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said that Buhari had not broken any suspension laws and had "done nothing wrong".
Observers voiced tensions before the vote and warned of election-related violence.
Nigeria, rich in oil, faces multiple security challenges, including the ten-year-old Boko Haram rebellion, and Buhari's election in 2015 was a rare transfer of peaceful power . Diplomats urged the best candidates to sign a peace pledge.
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