Court discharges, acquits ex-CJN Walter Onnoghen, unfreezes bank account

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has discharged and acquitted former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Samuel Nkanu Walter Onnoghen, clearing him of his 2019 conviction for alleged non-declaration of assets by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

In a judgement delivered by a three-member panel led by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, the court ruled in favour of Onnoghen and ordered that all previously frozen bank accounts be immediately unfrozen.

The judgement follows a settlement agreement between Onnoghen’s legal team and the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), represented by Lateef Fagbemi SAN.

“The bank accounts maintained by the appellant with Standard Chartered Bank (Nig) Limited, Wuse 2, Abuja, that were frozen by the judgment, shall be unfrozen forthwith. Parties shall take all steps necessary to give positive effect to these terms of settlement. In consequence, the appellant herein is hereby discharged and acquitted”, the court held.

Onnoghen was suspended from his role as CJN in January 2019 by then-President Muhammadu Buhari, following a recommendation from the CCT. He was later convicted on 19 April 2019 on six counts related to false declaration of assets, resulting in his removal from office.

At Monday’s hearing, Onnoghen’s lead counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, informed the Court of Appeal that both parties had agreed to settle in line with the court’s prior direction, adopting the terms of settlement. AGF counsel A. Gazali endorsed Awomolo’s submissions.

In its ruling, the appellate court determined that the CCT lacked jurisdiction to try and convict Onnoghen without first referring the matter to the National Judicial Council (NJC), the body responsible for overseeing judicial conduct in Nigeria.

The court further held that the CCT lacked jurisdiction over Onnoghen’s case, given that he had voluntarily retired and his retirement was accepted by the Federal Government.

The presiding judge, Justice Abba Mohammed, ordered the immediate unfreezing of Onnoghen’s four bank accounts held at Standard Chartered Bank (Nigeria) Limited, Wuse 2, Abuja.

The former CJN had previously filed an appeal, marked CA/ABJ/375 & 376 & 377/2019, requesting that the CCT’s judgement be nullified on several grounds, including claims of bias by the tribunal chairman and a lack of fair hearing.

Onnoghen argued that, as a serving judicial officer at the time of the charges in January 2019, he should have been disciplined only by the NJC. He further contended that the tribunal’s asset confiscation order violated the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Act, which restricts asset seizure to cases involving fraudulently acquired properties.