Appeal Court acquits, discharge ex-CJN, Onnoghen of false asset declaration charges…., orders federal government to unfreeze account

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, on Monday, discharged and acquitted a former Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, of his conviction by the Umar Danladi tribunal, which found him guilty of false asset declaration.

In it’s ruling, the appellate court discharged and acquitted Onnoghen from the conviction delivered against him by the Danladi’s Code of Conduct Tribunal.

The conviction which was delivered on April 18, 2019, was dismissed following the resolution of the issues that led to his trial and conviction.

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.

Meantime, about six years after he was convicted, a three-man panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Mohammed Bello, acquitted the ex-CJN following a settlement agreement the federal government entered with him.

Justice Abba Mohammed, who relied his judgment on the strengthen of terms of settlement by the Federal Government and Onnoghen, ordered return of his accounts previously confiscated.

However, terms of the settlement read, “The Appellant herein was charged at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (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.

“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.

The court added that the terms of the settlement were voluntarily entered into by the parties.

Recall that at the last sitting, on September 19, 2024, the Court of Appeal approved the FG’s and the former CJN’s request to settle the matter out of court.

The two parties in the suit informed the three-member panel that they were already in talks on a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

The appellant’s counsel, Ogwu Onoja, told the panel that the parties had been in discussion up until Wednesday, September 18, 2024, as he expressed hope that the discussion would end in a fruitful result, and asked the court to give them a month adjournment for final settlement of the matter.

The FG’s lawyer, Tijani Gazali, did not object to Onoja’s submission but gave support to it and asked the court to shift the matter forward for a possible amicable settlement, saying, “My Lords, I wish to humbly confirm the information. It is our position to settle the matter out of court.”

Justice J. O. Oyewole, who presided over the sitting, directed both parties to file terms of settlement for adoption when eventually agreed upon.

He also ordered them to document the terms of the settlement and file before the adjourned date for the court to adopt as its judgment on the matter.

He fixed November 4, 2024, as the return date for the two parties

President Bola Tinubu had, through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, persuaded the appellate court to halt further hearing of three separate appeals the former CJN filed to challenge his removal, conviction, and seizure of Onnoghen’s assets.

Following his removal, Onnoghen was also made to forfeit the undeclared assets to the FG as well as his five bank accounts.

In line with the terms of the settlement dated October 24, the appellate court ordered FG to, forthwith, unfreeze Onnoghen’s account with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited.