Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has appeared at the Court of Appeal in Abuja to upturn his suspension as CJN by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CTC) in 2019.
Onnoghen, in his appeal, prayed the court to void and set aside the CCT judgment delivered against him on April 18, 2019, on various grounds.
The former CJN argued that all the allegations brought against him constituted no offence and should not have formed the basis for his conviction and removal from office.
He is also challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct (CCT) and its refusal to be bound by the orders made by the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court directing the tribunal to halt the trial.
Ex-Chief Justice Onnoghen Heads To Appeal Court Over His Sack By Buhari
A former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, on Tuesday appeared at the Court of Appeal in Abuja where he is challenging his suspension as CJN by the Code of Conduct Tribunal in 2019.
Onnoghen, in his appeal, prayed the court to void and set aside the CCT judgment delivered against him on April 18, 2019, on various grounds.
The former CJN argued that all the allegations brought against him constituted no offence and should not have formed the basis for his conviction and removal from office.
He is also challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct (CCT) and its refusal to be bound by the orders made by the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court directing the tribunal to halt the trial.
Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen GCON (born 22nd December 1950) served as Chief Justice of Nigeria from 2017 to 2019.
He was appointed and later sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Before joining the Supreme Court, he was a Judge in Cross River State and a Justice of the Court of Appeal.
Onnoghen’s trials started when a petition was filed by the civil rights group at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) alleging that he owns ”sundry accounts primarily funded through cash deposits made by himself up to as recently as 10 August 2016, which appear to have been run in a manner inconsistent with financial transparency and the code of conduct for public officials.
The trial commenced January 14, 2019 at Code of Conduct Tribunal but Onnoghen was absent.
It was then adjourned to the following week because Onnoghen faulted the summons procedure.
The next hearing was slated for January 22, 2019 but he failed to show up in court again.
Following his absence again, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended him 26 January and appointed Tanko Ibrahim as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
His office was thereafter sealed by the police and members of the National Interest Defenders and Lawyers protested at the entrance of the National Secretariat of the Nigerian Bar Association.
On 28 January 2019, the Code of Conduct Tribunal adjourned his trial indefinitely.
