After several months of legal battle, the Court of Appeal has overturns conviction of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, over alleged false declaration of assets.
The appellate ruled that Tribunal court that first in favour of the Federal Government on the assets declaration allegations lacked the jurisdiction to hear and rule on the suit.
Aside from that, the court ordered that the former CJN’s bank accounts should be made accessible to him by the Federal Government immediately.
A three-member panel of the court led by Mohammed Bello acquitted Onnoghen of the charges, following the joint filing of a settlement agreement by the federal government and the former CJN.
Adopting the terms of settlement submitted by the parties as its judgement on Monday, the court also overturned the penalty imposed on Onnoghen barring him from holding public office for 10 years.
The CCT had convicted Onnoghen after a sensational trial that lasted between January and April in 2019 and was described by many as political after it started with the suspension of CJN Onnoghen by then-President Muhammadu Buhari in the middle of the preparation for the 2019 general election, in which Mr Buhari was seeking re-election for second term.
The trial, although generally believed to be politically motivated, revealed hidden bank accounts and transactions of the former CJN not declared to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) as provided by law, and raised ethical questions, which the NJC also probed.
To date, the NJC never made the report of its probe public but confirmed that Onnoghen resigned voluntarily. It also confirmed that President Buhari accepted Onnoghen’s voluntary resignation. Onnoghen’s resignation came ahead of the CCT judgement that ended up convicting him.
The former CJN appealed against the conviction in 2019, but the case did not come up for hearing until August, more than five years later.
In August, the legal teams of both the CJN and the federal government first openly indicated that there was an ongoing out-of-court settlement talk between them.
Days after, a lawyer to the former CJN, Ogwu Onoja, informed the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal that both parties had met as recently as 18 September, in hopes of reaching an agreement on the terms of settlement.
That day the Court of Appeal approved the parties’ moves towards settlement and adjourned until today (Monday, 4 November) for a report of the settlement talk between the two parties.
The court fixed 4 November in anticipation that the parties would filed their terms of settlement before then but on resumption of the case, parties jointly filed the settlement agreement.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, signed it on behalf of the federal government while Adegboyega Awomolo signed for the former CJN.
Tijani Gazali, representing the federal government, confirmed the agreement on behalf of the federal government.
In their joint filing adopted as the court’s judgement, the parties agreed that the CCT erred in conducting the trial and convicting Mr Onnoghen without allowing the NJC to first discipline him as a serving judicial officer, since the council is the only constitutionally mandated body to discipline judges.
Speaking after Monday’s decision, Awomolo thanked President Bola Tinubu and the AGF for resolving the case amicably, just as he stressed that the ruling restored Mr Onnoghen’s dignity and reinforced the judiciary’s independence.
He also expressed hopes that such executive interference would not recur, noting that both the 2016 raid on judges’ homes and Onnoghen’s suspension had damaged public trust in the judiciary.
“The decision of the Court of Appeal delivered this morning is historic and very significant. It is significant in that it restored the dignity, honour, and integrity of Honourable Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, past Chief Justice of Nigeria,” he said.
He added that the judiciary’s role in upholding democracy depends on maintaining public confidence, which had been shaken by the executive’s actions in recent years.
