A professor of law at the Ahmadu Bello University ( ABU ), Zaria, Prof. Muhammed Tawfiq Ladan has said that unless Justice Walter Onnoghen, the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) resigns, no Court in Nigeria can prevent the Code of Conduct Tribunal ( CCT ) from assuming jurisdiction to try him.
Speaking during a telephone chat with our correspondent, Ladan, who is a lecturer of the Department of Public Law, Faculty Law in ABU, said that it was Justice Walter Onnoghen that is being tried as a public officer and not the CJN.
“CCT jurisdiction is not about the CJN, it is about a public officer. Every justice of the Supreme Court is a public officer. CJN is a political title.
“The CCT will decide on range of sentence to impose on Onnoghen and close the case. The executive and the legislative Arms of government can then decide. Whether the Senate will confirm his removal is another issue.”
The CCT, according to him, is not interested in Onnoghen’s bank accounts but whether or not there was disclosure or non-disclosure.
He mentioned that the CCT will automatically cease to have jurisdiction to try Onnoghen as soon as he (Onnoghen) retires or resigns from office.
According to him, the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), have mutually exclusive jurisdiction.
NJC is a fact finding body which can actually impose disciplinary measures on its staff.
According to him, the extent NJC can impose disciplinary measures on its staff with regards to criminal conduct, breach of the Constitution or the Code of Conduct Bureau Act is limited.
On the admission of Justice Onnoghen that he made a mistake and inadvertently did not disclose some of his accounts, he said that the least the NJC could do, was to sustain the suspension order already handed down by the Federal Government and allow Onnoghen’s CCT trial to continue.
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