The Court of Appeal in Abuja has acquitted former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Samuel Nkanu Walter Onnoghen, overturning his 2019 conviction for alleged non-declaration of assets by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
A three-member panel, led by Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, ruled in favor of Onnoghen and ordered the immediate unfreezing of his bank accounts. This decision followed a settlement agreement between Onnoghen’s legal team and the office of the Attorney-General, represented by Lateef Fagbemi SAN.
The court determined that the CCT lacked jurisdiction to try Onnoghen without referring the matter to the National Judicial Council (NJC). The ruling came after Onnoghen had been suspended in January 2019 and convicted in April that year on six counts related to false asset declaration.
Onnoghen’s lead counsel stated that both parties had agreed to settle the case. The appellate court ordered the unfreezing of Onnoghen’s accounts at Standard Chartered Bank (Nigeria) Limited, Wuse 2, Abuja.
Onnoghen previously filed an appeal, arguing that only the NJC could discipline him as a serving judicial officer and that the tribunal’s asset confiscation order violated the Code of Conduct Bureau Act, which restricts asset seizure to fraud-related cases.
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