Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, has filed a suit to challenge his conviction by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on Thursday over non-declaration of assets.
In his ruling, the Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar, removed Onnoghen from office as the CJN and Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
Onnoghen was also banned from holding public office for the next ten years while an order to forfeit all five accounts said not to have been declared by him between 2009 and 2015 was issued.
In the suit, Onnoghen said, among other things, he did not confess to the offences against him as held by the CCT.
He argued that “The lower tribunal erred in law when it held that the appellant confessed to the charges framed by admission and use that as a basis to hold that the appellant did not declare his assets from year 2005 when he became a Justice of the Supreme Court and thus occasioned a gross miscarriage of justice.”
He explained further: “The appellant did not admit the fact of non-declaration of assets from year 2005 as Justice of the Supreme Court.
“The appellant only stated that he did not declare in 2009 as required because he forgot and did the declaration immediately it realised same.
“By the evidence of DW1 (first defence witness, Lawal Busari who is Onnoghen’s driver), and Exhibit DW2 tendered, it has affirmed the statement of the appellant that he forgot to make a declaration in 2009 but did in 2010 when he remembered showing there was a declaration after contrary to Count 1 of the charge.”
Another area faulted by the former CJN is the declaration that the evidence of DW1 did not create reasonable doubt on the evidence of the prosecution witnesses that the appellant did not make declaration of assets since 2005.
He said it was wrong to have convicted him, “based on alleged confessional statement, which confession statement did not constitute confession as known to law, as it was not precise, clear and unequivocal as required by law and sustain a conviction.”
Led by Chief Awomolo Adegboyega (SAN), Onnoghen’s lawyers sought an order that the lower tribunal lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, an order that the charge had become academic and an order setting aside the conviction of the appellant.
The lawyers also sought for an order setting aside the order for forfeiture of assets made by the tribunal and an order discharging and acquitting the appellant.
