Appeal Court to hear former CJN Onnoghen’s appeal against CCT conviction

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has fixed Tuesday for the hearing of an appeal filed by a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, challenging his 2019 conviction on charges of non-declaration of assets by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Then-President Muhammadu Buhari controversially suspended Mr Onnoghen in January 2019 to face the CCT trial.

The CCT convicted him in its judgement delivered on 19 April 2019.

As the penalty for the conviction, the tribunal ordered Mr Onnoghen’s removal from office, barred him from holding public office for 10 years, and ordered the forfeiture of funds in the bank accounts he was said to have failed to declare.

Meanwhile, about two weeks before the CCT’s trial ended, Mr Onnoghen tendered his resignation letter to the National Judicial Council.

Shortly after his conviction, the former CJN, through his legal team, filed a notice of appeal against the CCT judgement, but the appeal has not been heard since.

PREMIUM TIMES understands that the Court of Appeal has scheduled a hearing on Tuesday for his other appeals stemming from the CCT trial.

The appeals are marked CA/ABJ/375/2019, CA/ABJ/376/2019, and CA/ABJ/377/2019. The Nigeria’s federal government is the sole defendant.

Appeal Court

Grounds of appeal

Mr Onnoghen’s legal team, led by Adegboyega Awomolo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), argues that the CCT lacked jurisdiction over serving judicial officers and that its chairman, Danladi Umar, should have recused himself due to perceived bias.

The legal team also argued that the tribunal’s ruling was legally erroneous and constituted a miscarriage of justice.

Mr Onnoghen maintained that the CCT should not have tried him as a judicial officer, referencing precedents that limit the tribunal’s authority over such cases.

He also faulted the tribunal’s decision to forfeit his assets, claiming they were lawfully acquired and that the seizure was unwarranted.

Mr Onnoghen argued that the CCT lacked the authority to try him as a judicial officer and should not have entertained the case.

He argued that the CCT chair Danladi Umar’s refusal to recuse himself from the case compromised the fairness of the proceedings.

Mr Onnoghen challenged the legality of the asset seizure, asserting that the assets were acquired legally.

He contended that the tribunal failed to provide a fair hearing and dismissed evidence that could have exonerated him.

The appeal highlights an unevenness in the tribunal’s handling of similar cases.

For instance, in the case of another Supreme Court judge, Sylvester Ngwuta, the tribunal had previously suspended proceedings based on a Court of Appeal decision that only the National Judicial Council (NJC) could indict a serving judicial officer.

He said despite this, Mr Umar’s tribunal overruled this precedent in his case.

Mr Onnoghen argues that the tribunal’s decision to convict him and order the forfeiture of his assets was legally flawed and a breach of justice.

He, therefore, sought to urge the Court of Appeal to declare that the CCT lacked jurisdiction to hear the case.

He also urged the court to rule that the charges against him were academic.

The former CJN urged the appeal court to overturn his conviction and the consequential orders, including barring him from holding public office for 10 years and order of forfeiture of his assets.

Onnoghen’s exit

On 11 January 2019, the federal government charged Mr Onnoghen with breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers by allegedly failing to declare his assets between 2005 and 2016. He was also charged with making a false declaration by specifically omitting to declare five domiciliary bank accounts as part of his assets in 2016.

Before Mr Onnoghen’s arraignment on 23 January 2019, the CCT issued a controversial order for his suspension from office. The Court of Appeal would later call to question the integrity of the CCT’s ex-parte order.

Acting on the order, on 25 January 2019, then-President Buhari suspended Mr Onnoghen.

While being prosecuted by the CCT, Mr Onnoghen was also undergoing disciplinary proceedings at the National Judicial Council (NJC).

Before the CCT trial ended, Mr Onnoghen tendered his letter of voluntary retirement.

On 18 April 2019, the tribunal convicted him and, as punishment, ordered his removal from office, barred him from holding public office for 10 years and ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared assets.

The NJC did not make its report public, but on 6 October 2019, it issued a statement announcing that the President had accepted his voluntary retirement.

In March 2021, Mr Onnoghen spoke publicly about the circumstances leading to his exit from office. He denied some allegations and speculations that were said to have motivated President Buhari’s administration to move against him.

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For instance, he denied ever meeting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Mr Buhari’s main rival in the 2019 general elections.

He also faulted the allegation that he was setting corruption suspects free as the head of the Supreme Court.

“Prior to my suspension, I was confronted with no allegation. There were rumours that I met with Atiku in Dubai.

“As I am talking here today, I have never met Atiku one-on-one in my life,” Mr Onnoghen said.