Ime Akpan
Thursday, April 18, 2019 brought to an ignoble end the career of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Mr. Walter Onnoghen as the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja found him guilty of all six counts bordering on asset declaration fraud.
Although Onnoghen who was suspended from office as CJN by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25 resigned on April 4, the chairman of the CCT, Mr. Danladi Umar who read the judgement directed that he should be removed immediately and went ahead to strip Onnoghen of all the entitlements attached to the former offices he held.
He also said the erstwhile CJN should forfeit the money in his five bank domiciliary accounts that were not declared to the Nigerian government because they were acquired illegally.
Furthermore, the CCT barred Onnoghen from holding public office for the next 10 years.
“The defendant is hereby removed from office as the CJN, the chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.
“The money in the five accounts which the defendant has failed to declare and disclose its source is hereby confiscated, seized and forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria as the money was acquired illegally and the defendant has failed to adduce any evidence how he acquired the money.
“The defendant is hereby banned from holding public office for 10 years,” said Umar.
Umar held that Onnoghen who only called one witness, failed to dispute the evidence of the three prosecution witnesses.
“The tribunal, having considered the case of the prosecution and documents tendered without objection, find the exhibits tendered worthy of consideration.
“The evidence of Prosecution Witness 1, Prosecution Witness 2 and Prosecution Witness 3 was not disputed.
“The statement of the defendant made in his handwriting alluding to forgetfulness to declare the five accounts is enough to hold that the defendant clearly contravened the Code of Conduct for Public Officer
“Having regard to Section 23(2) of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and Bureau Act, the defendant has clearly contravened the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and he is here by convicted,” he added.
Onnoghen takes verdict not lightly
A member of Onnoghen’s legal team, Mr. Okon Nkanu Efut reacted to the ruling describing the conviction as “unconstitutional” and “premeditated.”
Addressing the media shortly after Umar passed the verdict, Efut said judgement in the matter was passed as far back as January 23, when the tribunal ordered Onnoghen’s suspension without hearing him.
“The conviction is unconstitutional. It is a breach of fair hearing.
“Before this day, on January 23, 2019, the same judgment had been passed, removing the Chief Justice of Nigeria without fair hearing.
“So, it was fait accompli, it was premeditated. Judgment has been passed before today. Today’s (yesterday) judgment is just a formality.
“We hold the view that the tribunal has not only breached the Constitution of Nigeria, it has breached the fundamental principles of natural justice, equity and good conscience.
“It has not only been able to pass judgment, it has convicted on an offence that was never charged. This is an erosion of the fundamental principles of our constitution,” he said.
He asked: “Why was judgment passed on January 23 before today, removing the CJN? Why is it that today, even after he has tendered his notice of retirement voluntarily and NJC has taken position, why is it that the tribunal has gone ahead to pass judgment in total disregard to the independence of the NJC and in total disregard to the power of the Senate in this matter?”
Efut stressed that the tribunal, having reversed itself in the case of Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, had breached the principles that hold the judicial precedence together.
“It is a sad day in our nation’s democracy, and we know that all is not over with this matter. The wheel of justice grinds slowly but surely, this is not the matter that will end here, we shall avail ourselves of all the process and hierarchy of the judiciary and we know that the judiciary will redeem itself, even though seriously battered and bruised.
“The judiciary will do justice. Justice has not been done today but surely, it would be done tomorrow, if not by our court, justice would be done by God. That is our position in this matter.”
He said Onnoghen would appeal the ruling.
“We know that all is not over in this matter. The wheel of justice grinds slowly. It grinds slowly but surely, this is not a matter that will end here. We shall avail ourselves of all the processes and the hierarchy of the judiciary,” he said.
Onnoghen reacts, files 16 grounds of appeal
Meanwhile, the former CJN filed 16 grounds of appeal, asking the Court of Appeal to quash his conviction.
In the appeal file on Thursday at the Court of Appeal, Abuja, Onnoghen also prayed the court to set aside the order of forfeiture of his assets to the federal government made by the CCT.
Filed on his behalf by his lead counsel, Mr. Adegboyega Awomolo, along with Efut, Messrs Chris Uche, Ogwu Onoja and George Ibrahim, the former CJN challenged the decision of the tribunal on the grounds that the tribunal erred in law when it convicted him of all the six-count charge.
He asked the Court of Appeal to hold that the CCT lacked the jurisdiction to hear the charge and that the tribunal ought to have excused itself from the trial.
He also prayed the Appeal Court to set aside all the orders made by the tribunal in the judgment, including that of forfeiture of his five domiciliary accounts to the Nigerian government.
“The lower tribunal erred in law when it refused to excuse itself from the proceedings in view of the open declaration by the Chairman of the tribunal that he is only accountable to the President, who appointed him and nobody else, because he is not a judicial officer and thus, occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice,” he said.
“The lower tribunal erred in law when it held that the appellant confessed to the charges framed by admission and used that as a basis to hold that the appellant did not declare his assets from the year 2005 when he became a justice of the Supreme Court and thus occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice.
“The lower tribunal erred in law when it held that the appellant is guilty of counts 2 – 6 of the charge in view of the fact that the appellant made an admission that he did not declare the Standard Chartered Bank account numbers in the 2014.
“The lower tribunal erred in law when it held that the appellant made false statement by the omission to declare the account numbers in Standard Chartered Bank in 2014 declaration, the same way he did in the 2016 declaration and held counts 2 – 6 to be proved.
Conviction major victory to anti-corruption crusade -Presidency
The presidency has described the conviction of Onnoghen as a major victory for the anti-corruption policy of the federal government.
The president’s spokesman, Mr. Garba Shehu said in a statement in Abuja that the outcome of the trial demonstrates clearly that the law is no respecter of persons, titles, social or political connections.
He said the essence of the rule of law is to hold everyone accountable equally before the law, regardless of their high or law status in the society.
The war against corruption is all encompassing and is not designed to persecute anyone for political or other reasons.
“The rule of law would lose its meaning and validity if only the weak, the poor and powerless are punished for their violations of the law. Countries succeed because the rule of law is evenly upheld and enforced.
“The war against corruption would go nowhere if the high and the mighty are spared because of their influence and connections. You can’t fight corruption by allowing impunity because the rule of law cannot function where impunity is tolerated,” said Shehu.
Furthermore, he said the conviction of Onnoghen should send a clear message that the dragnet against corruption will be spread widely to hold public officials accountable, whether they are politicians, Judges, civil servants or holding positions of public trust.
Conviction will serve as a deterrent to others -CACOL
For the Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Onnoghen’s conviction would serve as a deterrent to other public officers.
A statement by CACOL’s coordinator for research and documentation, Mr. Okechukwu Ndiribe, quoted the organisation’s executive chairman, Mr. Debo Adeniran, as saying that the CCT’s verdict sacking Onnoghen had vindicated his position that the ex-CJN should not have stayed one day longer in office after his admission to the non-declaration of asset allegations.
Conviction calls for introspection of administration of justice – Adedipe
In his reaction, a senior lawyer, Mr. Ifedayo Adedipe, described Onnoghen’s conviction as a tragedy for the judiciary and the nation, saying it called for introspection in the administration of justice.
“It is a tragedy that has befallen the institution of the judiciary; a case in which the Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria is put in the dock and convicted as a felon, it is a tragedy for our country; it is a tragedy for the judiciary.”
Onnoghen has strong grounds of appeal – Fashanu
For his part, another senior lawyer, Mr. Babatunde Fashanu, said the CCT wrongly assumed jurisdiction to entertain the charges against Onnoghen.
He said Onnoghen has strong grounds of appeal adding: “Whatever statute gives the CCT the power to prosecute is subject to the constitution that empowers the NJC to handle disciplinary issues against judicial officers. According to the decision in Justice Nganjiwa’s case, the Court of Appeal said you could not charge a judge for something relating to his office, including bribery and non-declaration of assets without first going through the NJC. That Court of Appeal’s decision is the law for now.”
With ThisDay/Punch/Sahara Reporters reports
