The on-going trial of Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen With the Federal Government closing its case, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, where the prosecution failed to prove most of the allegation carried by the media against him, Onnoghen has opted to go for a no case submission.
Justice Walter Onnoghen,the Suspended Chief
Justice of the Federation, consulting with his Lead Counsel during the
continuation of the hearing of his case by the Code of Conduct Tribunal at
Jabi, Abuja. He is currently facing a six-count charge FG preferred against him
before the CCT. He had during trial raise the alarm that his assets declaration
form before the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, was tamper with.
The Chief Justice of the Federation, who was suspended from
office by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, was removed shortly after
he fixed date to inaugurate judges that will hear petitions arising from the
2019 general election. The Federal Government had last week Thursday, closed
its case against the suspended CJN after producing only three witnesses that
testified before the tribunal.
Mr. James Akpala, the first prosecution witness, PW-1, a senior investigative officer at the CCB, had in his testimony, told the tribunal that the charge against Onnoghen was filed before his team concluded investigation on the allegation that he falsely declared his assets. Similarly, a retired Director at the CCB,
Mr. Awal Yakassai, the PW-2, told the Mr. Umar led three-man panel that contrary to what was alleged in the media, he said the suspended CJN owned only five houses. He said it was not true that CCB investigators linked the ownership of 55 houses to the defendant. The witness made the disclosure after he was shown copies of Justice Onnoghen’s asset declaration forms, which FG tendered in evidence before the CCT. The embattled CJN was said to have submitted the forms marked as Exhibit 2 and 3, to the CCB in 2014 and 2016. Answering questions under cross-examination, the PW-2, admitted that the CCB was yet to verify Justice Onnoghen’s assets with a view to finding out if he made false declarations, before a charge was filed against him. More so, Okagbue the PW-3, who told the tribunal that she started managing Onnoghen’s bank accounts since 2015, gave a load down of both the opening and closing balance of all the accounts from January 2018 to January 2019.
