Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have kept up their calls for Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Olukayode Ariwoola to be fired for alleged partisanship.
After the CJN made a political remark in Rivers State, civil society organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of the Coalition of Civil Societies of Nigeria (CCSN) demanded his resignation.
A group of anti-riot police officers from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command of the Nigeria Police dispersed the CSOs who had begun peacefully protesting at the Supreme Court the previous week.
In addition to calling for Ariwoola’s dismissal if he refused to resign, the coalition had begun a protest march to the National Assembly over what they saw as the CJN’s apparent partisanship.
Eighteen civil society organisations (CSOs) have formed this coalition. These include the Civil Society Forum of Nigeria, the Nigeria Youth Development Forum, the Democratic Youth Initiative, the Forum for Social Justice, the Movement for the Development of Democracy, and the Safeguard Nigeria Movement.
Among the others are the Alliance for People’s Welfare, the Forward Nigeria Movement, the Human Rights Crusaders, the Defenders of Democracy, the Democratic Rights Assembly, and the Voters Rights Assembly.
Olayinka Dada, the coalition’s team head, addressed another press conference on Tuesday in Abuja, saying that they had established methods and legitimate means through which the CJN would leave office should he fail to quit.