Appeal Court Clears Former CJN Onnoghen, Orders Account Unfreezing

The Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Monday, cleared former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, of the charges that led to his removal from office in 2019.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari had suspended Onnoghen on January 25, 2019, just weeks before the presidential election, appointing Justice Tanko Muhammad, the next most senior judge, to lead the judiciary in his place.

This suspension followed Onnoghen’s announcement regarding the inauguration of judges for election petition tribunals, which occurred mere hours earlier.

Buhari’s actions sparked significant controversy, with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) labeling it a coup against the judiciary.

Onnoghen was subsequently convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal on six corruption charges, alleging that he had made false declarations to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

Now, nearly six years after his conviction, a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Mohammed Bello, acquitted Onnoghen following a settlement agreement reached with the federal government.

President Bola Tinubu, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, urged the appellate court to suspend further proceedings on three appeals Onnoghen had filed to contest his removal, conviction, and asset seizures.

In accordance with the settlement agreement dated October 24, the appellate court ordered the federal government to immediately unfreeze Onnoghen’s account with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited.

Justice Abba Bello Mohammed stated that the four bank accounts previously subject to forfeiture must be returned to Onnoghen.

The terms of the settlement read, “The Appellant herein was charged at the Code of Conduct Tribuna (CCT), on six counts dated January 11, 2019, to which he pleaded not guilty;

“The tribunal before the commencement of trial, heard and granted an ex-parte application seeking for an order for the appellant to step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council, and for the President to swear in the next most senior Justice of the Supreme Court as acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, thereby removing the appellant from office.

“The appellant before and during the trial, raised objections challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), to hear and determine the matter same having not been brought by due process of the law, as the appellant being a judicial officer, ought to have been reported to the National Judicial Council first; whose findings and recommendations would determine the action(s) to be taken against him;

“The appellant also filed an application asking the chairman of the code of conduct tribunal to recuse himself from the proceedings because of the biased conduct he exhibited during the proceedings. The parties herein have expressed a collective desire to settle the appeals out of court.”

The statement continued, “Pursuant to the above, it is hereby agreed by the parties as follows: That the respondent concedes the appeals in the following terms:

“That the three appeals namely: (1) CA/A/375c/2019 (2) CA/A/376c/2019 and (3) CA/A/377c/2019 be consolidated for the purpose of hearing and settlement herein.

“That in relation to appeal nos: CA/A/375c/2019 and CA/A/376c/2019, it is settled that the code of conduct tribunal lacks jurisdiction to try and convict the appellant (a judicial officer) without first resorting to the National Judicial Council (NJC) in accordance with the following decisions: FRN vs NGANJIWA (2022) 17 NWLR (Pt.1860) 407 @ 468; NGANJIWA vs FRN (2018) 4 NWLR (Pt.1609) 301; OPENE vs NJC (2011) LPELR-4795 (CA).

“Secondly, that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction to have tried and convicted the appellant even after the appellant had tendered his voluntary retirement letter and same was accepted unconditionally by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” among others.

In a brief statement, Onnoghen’s legal representatives, Adegboyega Awomolo and Ogwu James Onoja, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), expressed their appreciation to President Tinubu and the Attorney General for facilitating the resolution of this matter.