The Court of Appeal in Abuja has acquitted and discharged Justice Walter Onnoghen, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, on allegations of false assets declaration.
In April 2019, Onnoghen was convicted of the omission of funds in his five domiciliary accounts by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
A three-member panel of justices led by Abba Mohammed held that the decision was based on the terms of the settlement reached by the parties in the matter.
The panel ordered the return of the four bank accounts seized from Onnoghen.
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The terms of the agreement, which the appellate court noted was voluntarily entered by parties, read, “The Appellant herein was charged at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (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.
“The appellant also filed an application asking the chairman of the code of conduct tribunal to recuse himself from the proceedings because of the biased conduct he exhibited during the proceedings. The parties herein have expressed a collective desire to settle the appeals out of court.”
It further stated that pursuant to the above, it was agreed by the parties that the respondent conceded the appeals in the following terms:
“That the three appeals namely: (1) CA/A/375c/2019 (2) CA/A/376c/2019 and (3) CA/A/377c/2019 be consolidated for the purpose of hearing and settlement herein.
“That in relation to appeal nos: CA/A/375c/2019 and CA/A/376c/2019, it is settled that the code of conduct tribunal lacks jurisdiction to try and convict the appellant (a judicial officer) without first resorting to the National Judicial Council (NJC) in accordance with the following decisions: FRN vs NGANJIWA (2022) 17 NWLR (Pt.1860) 407 @ 468; NGANJIWA vs FRN (2018) 4 NWLR (Pt.1609) 301; OPENE vs NJC (2011) LPELR-4795 (CA).
“Secondly, that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction to have tried and convicted the appellant even after the appellant had tendered his voluntary retirement letter and same was accepted unconditionally by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” it added.
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