By Damilare Adeleye
The Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged and acquitted former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, from his conviction for false asset declaration by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Onnoghen’s conviction, handed down on April 18, 2019, by the Umar Yakubu Danladi tribunal, was overturned by the Appellate Court following the out of court resolution reached between the federal government and him.
Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, in a judgment based on the terms of settlement adopted by the federal government and Onnoghen, ordered that the four bank accounts previously ordered to be forfeited be returned to him.
In a brief statement, Onnoghen’s lawyers, Adegboyega Awomolo and Ogwu James Onoja, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for ensuring the resolution of the issue.
It will be recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari had on January 25, 2019, about 29 days before the presidential election, suspended Onnoghen from office as the CJN and swore in the next most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to take over the leadership of the judiciary.
Onnoghen’s suspension came barely eight hours after he announced his decision to inaugurate judges who would preside over election petition tribunals.
Ex-President Buhari’s action elicited varied reactions from both within and outside the judicial circles, with the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, describing it as a coup against the judiciary.
Onnoghen was later convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on a six-count corruption charge that was preferred against him by the Federal Government.
It was alleged that he made a false declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau.