Asset declaration forms tampered with -Onnoghen
A senior investigation officer of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr. James Apala told the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Monday that the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria submitted two assets declaration forms on December 14, 2016.
He said one of the forms had two Union Bank accounts of the suspended CJN while the other had seven bank accounts with two kept with Union Bank and five others with Standard Chartered Bank.
Apala was testifying as the first prosecution witness in the trial of the suspended CJN on the charges of false and non-declaration of charges preferred against the embattled top judicial officer.
The witness, led by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar, said the first form earlier admitted as Exhibit 2, covered the period June 8, 2005 when Onnoghen was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court till November 22, 2014.
He said the second form as Exhibit 3 was declared after the defendant assumed office as CJN.
Fielding questions from the prosecuting counsel, Apala said the two forms were received by an official of the bureau, Mr. Awal Yakassai, on December 14, 2016.
He confirmed that the two forms had acknowledgement slips bearing the same date.
Asset declaration forms tampered with –Onnoghen
Before the asset declaration forms were admitted, Onnoghen, through his lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, alleged that it was tampered with.
He insisted that the Form 001 he filled in 2014 and 2015 were no longer the way he submitted it to the CCB.
He queried why the hitherto bound documents appeared “in loose form” before the tribunal, alleging that it was tampered with, with some of the pages missing.
Nevertheless, Awomolo said he would raise his client’s objection to the admissibility of the documents, in his final written address.
“We have some reservation on the documents, we will not object in the interest of justice but we have reservations that would be addressed at the end of the day”, he added.
In another development, Apala told the three-man bench of the CCT that he had no idea if his organisation keeps a central register of all assets declaration forms submitted to it by public officers.
He also said he had no idea of the number of assets declaration forms the bureau had issued from 1993 to 2019.
Apala said this under cross-examination by the defence led by Awomolo.
The prosecution, which preferred six counts of false and non-declaration of assets against the suspended CJN, opened its case on Monday calling Apala as its first witness.
Apala had earlier ended his evidence-in-chief during which he was led by the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar.
Six sets of documents, including the suspended CJN’s two assets declaration forms and bank account documents, were tendered and admitted as exhibits in his evidence-in-chief.
Under cross-examination which followed after he ended his evidence-in-chief, the witness was asked by the defence about his duties in his organisation and the organogram of the organisation.
Asked if “the CCB has a central register for all assets declaration submitted since 1993,” Apala said, “I have no idea”.
Awomolo also asked, “You do not also have the idea of the number of forms issued by the bureau in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019?”
In response, the witness said he had no idea.
Answering another question, the witness said, “It is a constitutional provision that you (a public officer) are expected to go to the nearest office of the bureau to declare your assets”.
