16 hours Ago By MIRIAM NNOLI
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged and acquitted former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, from his conviction of false asset declaration. The court in a judgment acquitted Onnoghen from the conviction delivered against him by the Code of Conduct Tribunal on April 18, 2019. New Telegraph reports that the case was dismissed following the resolution of the issues that led to his trial and conviction.
Delivering the judgment, the presiding Justice, Justice Abba Mohammed, adopted the terms of settlement by the Federal Government and Onnoghen and ordered that the four bank accounts previously ordered to be forfeited be returned to him. The terms of the settlement partly read, “The Appellant herein was charged at the Code of Conduct Tribuna (CCT), on six counts dated January 11, 2019, to which he pleaded not guilty; “The tribunal before the commencement of trial, heard and granted an ex-parte application seeking for an order for the appellant to step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, and for the President to swear in the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, thereby removing the appellant from office. “The appellant before and during the trial, raised objections challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), to hear and determine the matter same having not been brought by due process of the law, as the appellant being a judicial officer, ought to have been reported to the National Judicial Council first; whose findings and recommendations would determine the action(s) to be taken against him;.
