Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, is set to challenge the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s 2019 order that removed him from office at the Court of Appeal on Tuesday.
Onnoghen is seeking to overturn the CCT judgment delivered on April 18, 2019, citing various grounds, including lack of jurisdiction, bias, and absence of fair hearing.
Through his lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, Onnoghen is asking the appellate court to quash his conviction and set aside the order for forfeiture of his assets. In his appeal, Onnoghen argued that the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, ought to have recused himself from presiding over his trial due to real likelihood of bias.
Onnoghen maintained that he was a judicial officer at the time the charges were filed against him and therefore cannot be subjected to the jurisdiction of the lower tribunal. He cited the case of Nganiiwa v. FRN (2018) and FRN V. Sylvester Nwali Nguta, where the court held that only the National Judicial Council has the power to discipline judicial officers for misconduct.
“The lower tribunal has no jurisdiction over serving judicial officers such as the appellant, save the National Judicial Council,” Onnoghen argued. “The Motion on Notice dated Jan. 14, 2019, challenging the jurisdiction ought to be granted in all material particular as it purports to save the lower tribunal of a needless futile exercise.”
Onnoghen also challenged the order for the confiscation of his assets, stating that they were legitimately acquired. He denied admitting to non-declaration of assets from 2005, clarifying that he only forgot to declare in 2009 as required.
