Court of Appeal Overturns Former CJN, Walter Onnoghen’s Conviction by Code of Conduct Tribunal
Five years after ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria, Samuel Walter Nkanu Onnoghen was suspended from office, and convicted for alleged false declaration of assets, the court of appeal in Abuja on Monday discharged and acquitted him.
The intermediate court discharged Onnoghen after adopting the terms of settlement reached between the federal government and the defendant.
Hon. Justice Abba Mohammed who presided ordered that the former CJN’s four bank accounts be restored to him.
“The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) also lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter without resorting to the National Judicial Council (NJC),” the appellate court held.
“The bank accounts maintained by the appellant with Standard Chartered Bank (Nig) Limited, Wuse 2, Abuja, that were frozen by the judgment, shall be unfrozen forthwith.
“Parties shall take all steps necessary to give positive effect to these terms of settlement.
“In consequence, the appellant herein is hereby discharged and acquitted.”
Praising the Appeal Court verdict, Asiwaju A.S. Awomolo, SAN who has been an arrowhead in the matter right from inception had these to say:
“The decision of the Court of Appeal delivered this morning is historical and very significant. It is significant in that, it restored the dignity, honour and integrity of Honourable Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen GCON, past Chief Justice of Nigeria.
“More than these personal gains to His Lordship is the fact that the damage done to the honour, integrity, dignity and Independence of the judiciary, the 3rd arm of government under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, has been rebuilt and restores.
“Two decisions and actions of the executive arm of Government between 2016 and 2019 did grave damage to the public perception, integrity and independence of the judiciary. The first was the invasion of the homes of judicial officers of the realm, including justices of the Supreme Court in the early hours of the night, like a common criminal and bandits. It was claimed that there were allegations of corruption against the judicial officers. In the end, none of the judges, publicly humiliated, was found guilty of any corruption charges.
“The second was the unconstitutional removal of the Hon Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Head of the Judiciary, an arm of government, in breach of clear provision of the Constitution. The impurity of the Executive has no precedent and justification.
“These two events have resulted in the poor public perception of the Judiciary and low confidence in the integrity and independence of the Judiciary.
“We thank, the Honorable Attorney General of the Federation and the Minster of Justice, Prince Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi, SAN for his candor and forthrightness as demonstrated in this appeal.
“Through the Honourable Attorney General, we send our appreciation to His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for upholding the spirit and letter of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by affirming to the Independence of the Judiciary and respect for the Rule of Law
“The Judiciary remains the foundational structure, the bulwark upon which
Nigeria’s Constitutional democracy rests.
“Nigerians must be encouraged to have confidence and trust in the independence, impartiality and integrity of the judiciary, in just resolution of disputes brought to the Courts.
“Justice is rooted in confidence and that confidence must not be dislodged by Executive interference with the independence and integrity of the Judiciary.
It is hoped that never in this Country will the independence, integrity, honour and dignity of the judiciary be trampled upon as was done before.”
In April 2019 a three-member panel of the CCT led by Danladi Umar, chairman of the tribunal at the time, convicted Onnoghen on six counts bordering on false assets declaration and ordered that he be removed from office.
In the appeal marked CA/ABJ/375 & 376 & 377/2019, Onnoghen prayed the court to void and set aside the CCT’s judgment on various grounds.
The former CJN argued that the tribunal chairman was biased and denied him fair hearing.
Listing some of the “errors” in the CCT’s verdict, Onnoghen argued that he was a judicial officer at the time the charge was filed against him on January 11, 2019, and should not have been subjected to the jurisdiction of the lower tribunal.
He added that only the NJC had the power to discipline him for misconduct and not the lower tribunal.
Onnoghen also challenged the ruling on the confiscation of his assets. He said the order violated provisions of paragraph three of section 23 of the CCB Act, which only permits the seizure of such properties “if they were acquired by fraud”.
He faulted the failure of the prosecution to present Denis Aghanya, whose petition led to the charges against him.
