CJN: Integrity Group Disowns Petition

A Port Harcourt-based rights organisation, the Integrity Friends for Truth and Peace Initiative (IFTPI) otherwise called the Integrity Group, has described as malicious, a petition purporting to have been written by the body against the person and office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
In a disclaimer made available to The Tide, last Wednesday, and signed by the Secretary, Board of Trustees (BoT), Meshack Uyi, said that the group did not have any reason to launch an unwarranted attack on the person and office of the chief justice of Nigeria.
The disclaimer reads, “The attention of the Integrity Group has once again been drawn to a malicious petition made against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon Justice Walter S. N. Onnoghen, purportedly written using the name of our group and signed off by someone who claims to be the executive director of the group.
“The Integrity Friends for Truth and Peace Initiative (The Integrity Group) and its directors completely disassociate ourselves from the malicious and unwarranted attack on the office and person of the very respected and distinguished CJN,” statement noted.
According to the group, “At no time did we meet and took a decision to attack the office and person of the CJN either as a group or by proxy.
“As a registered entity, the said petitioner/executive director has no right to speak on behalf of the group without the consent of other directors. Doing so negates the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) rules guiding incorporated entities like ours. It also runs contrary to our Code of Conduct.
“The embattled executive director, who was clever not to sign off ‘on behalf of’ the Integrity Group but just signed in his name and his embattled position, is however, advised to desist from further using and or bringing the name of the group to continuous disrepute.
“We strongly advise the National Judicial Council, the revered CJN, the Nigerian Senate, the Rivers State Government and the general public to completely disregard the said petition/petitioner and subsequent activities of the embattled director purporting to act in the name of our group in its entirety,” Uyi added.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana