A human rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has called on the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Muhammad to tender his resignation with immediate effect over allegations of age falsification.
The group in a statement issued yesterday by its national coordinator, Mr. Emmanuel Onwubiko and national media affairs director, Miss Zainab Yusuf said Muhammad should be suspended pending the determination of the allegations brought against him in a suit.
Statement reads in part
“Justice Walter Onnoghen was forced out of office even before an allegation of failure to declare assets correctly was determined by a highly compromised Code of Conduct Tribunal. Tanko Muhammad must be suspended until such a time that he is either cleared or the matter determined, one way or the other. If he is convicted, then he should be fired.
“Age falsification is a disease that has eaten deep into Nigerian civil service and labour market. The Nigerian labour force is filled with senile and overage employees.
“This continues to affect production adversely in our institutions, establishments and businesses. Even though there is no clear cut definition of age falsification as a crime in the Nigeria constitution, a person can still be sent to jail for it because it is an offence to falsify any document.”
Mr. Tochi Michael, a businessman had in April, 2019 dragged the acting CJN before an Abuja High court in a suit marked FCT/HC/BW/CV/79/2019 alleging Muhammad falsified his age from his original birth date of December 31, 1950 as contained in his official records to December 31, 1953. The petitioner prayed the court to determine whether such act by the acting CJN does not constitute a criminal act of perjury, falsification and forgery and also a breach of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria.
The case was adjourned to Friday, May 24, 2019 by the presiding Judge,Justice Danlami Sench.
