Uproar as Nigeria’s Buhari suspends chief justice

Bloomberg

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen just weeks before what’s set to be a tight presidential vote, in a move the main opposition party condemned as an “act of dictatorship.”
Buhari, 76, appointed Ibrahim Tanko Muhammad in an acting capacity, he said in a statement. Onnoghen was put on trial by the Abuja-based Code of Conduct Tribunal for an allegedly false declaration of his assets. In addition to that charge, Buhari said the security agencies found “suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars” in Onnoghen’s personal accounts.
The president also defended the move by saying he’d been ordered by the CCT to suspend Onnoghen until the trial is over. Buhari’s main challenger in the February 16 vote, Atiku Abubakar, a 72-year-old businessman and former vice president who’s running for the People’s Democratic Party, condemned the decision.
“Our country is falling apart under the leadership of President Buhari and it is time to stand up for democracy,” Abubakar said.