The Nigerian government is pursuing criminal charges of financial negligence and fraudulence against Walter Onnoghen, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Premium Times reports that since 2016:

Mr. Onnoghen [only] partially declared his assets, but still failed to declare a series of bank accounts, denominated in local and foreign currencies. … The government consequently filed six charges of non and fraudulent declaration of assets by Mr Onnoghen, with trial expected to commence on January 14 at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The charges against the CJN are based on a petition sponsored by the Anti-corruption and Research-based Data Initiative.  According to Signal media, the group has links with current President Muhammadu Buhari. The petition's author, Dennis Aghanya, was the president's former media aide between 2009-2011 and currently serves as executive secretary of the research and data group that initiated the petition.

In the lead up to Nigeria's presidential elections in February, the CJN's criminal charges have triggered speculation that ethnoreligious political dynamics have played a role, as religious and ethnic tensions in Nigeria deepen between the Christian-majority south and the Muslim-majority north.

The CJN has denied any wrongdoing.

The ethnoreligious politics of Onnoghen’s appointment

The appointment of Nigeria’s chief justice is usually a straightforward process. The National Judicial Commission (NJC) normally forwards the name of the most senior justice to the president, who appoints and then the legislature confirms the appointment.

But that was not the case with Onnoghen, where his religious identity as a Christian man from southern Nigeria may have been a factor. On November 10, 2016, Buhari, a Muslim man from northern Nigeria, “inaugurated Onnoghen as ‘acting CJN’ following the retirement of Justice Mahmud Mohammed at the attainment of the mandatory 70-year retirement age,” according to Punch newspaper. This fueled speculation that Onnoghen might not be made the substantive CJN and could be eased out to make room for Buhari to appoint another northern Muslim in his place. Buhari’s penchant for making “parochial appointments” has deepened the ethnic and religious fault lines in the country.

Onnoghen's appointment as ‘substantive CJN’ came three months later by Buhari’s deputy, Yomi Osibanjo (also a Southern Christian), while performing duties as acting president during his boss's medical vacation.  Making this appointment while Buhari was away further deepened the suspicion.

A history of intimidation, lawlessness 

The executive arm of the Nigerian government has a sordid history of intimidating other arms of government. On September 22, 2015, the administration filled similar charges of non-declaration of assets against the Senate President Bukola Saraki (head of Nigeria’s higher legislative house). On July 6, 2018, Nigeria’s Supreme Court dismissed the false charges against Saraki.

Similarly, in October 2018, Nigeria’s secret service agents raided the residences of judges at midnight in Abuja, the nation’s capital and five other states “in search of evidence linking the judges to corruption.” This “distressing and unfortunate incident” was condemned by lawyers as “totally unacceptable in a democratic society.”

Outspoken Premium Times journalist Samuel Ogundipe shared his skepticism on the Justice Onnoghen situation:

I'll be waiting to see the media outlets that would carry this propaganda from the presidency about Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen. If Buhari truly knows nothing about the top jurist's planned arraignment, he should openly eschew it as a circus and ensure heads roll.

— Samuel Ogundipe (@SamuelOgundipe) January 12, 2019

Paul Usoro, president of the Nigerian Bar Association asserts “the speed of the investigation and trial of Onnoghen as validation that President Muhammadu Buhari’s federal executive has directed the current development.”

He points out that the Code of Conduct Tribunal arraignment was scheduled for January 14, with only three working days between processing the petition the investigation, charges, and arraignment:

Such unprecedented speed and efficiency in Nigeria’s criminal justice administration! It is clear, given the rush with which this matter was conducted, that the CJN was not privy to it and did not conduct its mandatory required disciplinary processes prior to the filing of the Charge before the CCT.

Gag the judiciary, period!

A senior advocate of Nigeria (the equivalent of a queen's counsel) and constitutional lawyer, Sebastine Hon described the charges against the CJN “as a deliberate attempt to gag the judiciary”. He sees this move as “dangerously political and tendentious”:

Suddenly, we woke to see a petition leaked to the informal or social media, allegedly received by the Code of Conduct on [January 9.] Suddenly, we are told charges have been filed against the CJN. Suddenly, the Presidency is reportedly asking him to step aside! Was he interrogated or interviewed and his own reactions obtained?

A selective war against corruption

Nigerian netizens were quick to point out the hypocrisy of what seems to be a selective war against corruption:

Babachir is chilling at home
Ganduje is walking free
But 48 hrs later, CJN is arraigned https://t.co/WcXGpbQKkh

— Dolapo Oni (@Dolarpo) January 13, 2019

Babachir David Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation, was sacked on October 30, 2017, following a grass cutting scandal unraveled by a legislative panel of inquiry that Babachir's company “received consultancy contract for an intervention agency under his office”. Babachir has not been persecuted — he is campaigning for Buhari’s re-election.

In videos widely circulated on social media, the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, was seen allegedly receiving bribes of US$5 million from contractors. Ganduje, a member of Buhari’s ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, is yet to be prosecuted. Despite this, President Buhari described Ganduje as “a very responsible man”.

A ‘dubious’ trial, dissenting voices 

Many see the chief justice's trial as yet another form of silencing under President Buhari since he took office in 2015:

Under Buhari, the press has been silenced. The labour and trade unions have been silenced. The civil society organisations have been silenced. Public intellectuals have been silenced. The judiciary is being silenced.

But nothing is truly lost unless the people are silent.

— Ayo Sogunro (@ayosogunro) January 13, 2019

Buhari and his coterie of lemmings are desperate to rig the elections. From the wild figures reported for primary participation, to the appointment of an (allegedly) loosely related senior INEC official, to the latter day attack on the CJN. You don't have to be pro-PDP to see –

— T. Rankïn’ ∆ (@AfroVII) January 12, 2019

An editorial in ScoopNg described the trial as dubious, pointing out that the judge presiding over the CJN case, Danladi Umar, is also corrupt. Prosecutor Festus Keyamo has conflicting interests as the strategic head of communications for Buhari's reelection campaign.

 On this basis alone, the trial of the CJN, a person who has served the country for almost 35 years without a charge should make every Nigerian fretful, suspicious and vigilant … All fingers are pointing to the 2019 elections.

An Abuja Federal High Court has halted the planned arraignment of Onnoghen — “to maintain status quo till January 17.”

Written by Nwachukwu Egbunike · comments (0)
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Starting on Monday, January 14, a rotating roster of indigenous language digital activists from Latin America will take control of the @ActLenguas (Language Activism) Twitter account. This social media campaign is taking place within the context of the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019 and will provide a space for diverse voices from across the region to tell stories of their experiences with language revitalization.

Over the next 50 weeks, 50 different activists will take turns sharing their perspectives on what their native language means to them and their communities. These activists are all working to promoting the use of their languages in new domains like the internet, which presents many opportunities and challenges. But there is also an important offline component to their activism related to long-standing histories and contemporary contexts that affect the vitality of indigenous languages.

For the past five years, Rising Voices (RV) has been facilitating digital activism by helping to organize gatherings and workshops and providing microgrant funding and support to projects in the region. RV also highlights innovative digital initiative on our mapping website, but we feel that this campaign is especially important because those following along on Twitter will hear directly from the activists themselves.

Response to calls for participation has been extremely positive, as the roster for the first round through the beginning of May has already been filled. We opened the roster first to people who have taken part in one of the regional gatherings, microgrant programs, or other Rising Voices activities.

The participants

Our first host is Yásnaya Elena Aguilar Gil, a Mixe from the state of Oaxaca. Read more about her in this profile published on RV. Yásnaya, along with and her colleague Tajëëw Díaz-Robles, who'll be hosting later in the year, were some of the architects of the concept of “digital activism” as a strategy to promote languages and attract new speakers. While technology and the internet will not magically solve the serious problem of language loss, it can play an important role in a comprehensive strategy of language revitalization.

In October 2014, when the two women were working with the Juan de Córdova Library in Oaxaca, they partnered with Rising Voices on the first-ever national gathering of indigenous language digital activists that brought together more than 30 people from across Mexico for three days of peer learning and exchange. Created out of this meeting was a local network for mutual support and encouragement. Many of the people that participated in that first event are on the hosting roster for the @ActLenguas social media campaign.

After that meeting, national networks formed in countries such as Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, as well as local projects focusing on one language or a few languages in a specific area. People from these projects and networks are also well represented in this year-long campaign.

Their personal stories, hard work and dedication lie at the heart of these networks. These activists are eager to share these stories with people who may know very little about indigenous languages in Latin America, as well as with other indigenous communities and activists who will see in these stories echoes of their own experiences but also learn about other parts of Latin America and their unique contexts.

Participants who have signed on to manage the account include:

• Simona, a Mapuche grad student working on her doctoral degree in linguistics
• Leonardy, a Wayuu Wikipedian seeking ways to share knowledge in his language
• Rodrigo, a Zapotec researcher leading projects related to digital activism
• Ruben, an Aymara poet who recently published an award-winning book in his language
• Sasil, a Maya who manages a section of her local newspaper reporting news in her mother language
• Misael, a Triqui, and Netza, a Mixtec, both of whom are determined to ensure that free software is available in their languages

This is just a sampling of some of people at the center of this campaign to share stories of critical language-related work happening across Latin America. Visit the campaign page to see the current schedule, and stay tuned for short blog posts with profiles of each host.

This social media project was inspired by initiatives such as @IndigenousX in Australia, whose founder, Luke Pearson, provided important guidance in the planning stages. Global Voices’ own Instagram account is also managed by a rotating roster of community members and has been an excellent way to gain insights our diverse membership and the places where they live.

While the tweets will primarily be in Spanish and the native languages being highlighted, we are exploring ways to curate and translate key messages to further amplify these stories. You can support this campaign by following the @ActLenguas account throughout 2019, and by retweeting messages you find inspiring of interesting. Hosts are also eager for feedback and will do their best to respond.

Written by Eduardo Avila · comments (0)
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