CCT dismisses no-case submission filed by suspended CJN

The Code of Conduct Tribunal on Friday dismissed the no case submission filed by the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in the ongoing trial over alleged false assets declaration.

Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar, held that Justice Onnoghen must enter his defence on Monday, April 1.

Umar said the tribunal denied the application on the grounds that the evidence given earlier by the defendant himself, that he forgot to declare some of his assets, was enough to rely on.

The tribunal Chairman also denied the application on the grounds that the evidences by the principal witnesses from 1 to 6 were weight enough for the trial to go on.

He said: “This tribunal will never fail to exercise justice on whosoever that appears before it.
”We are all equal before God, the evidence by the Pw2 to Pw6 is weighty enough to call upon the defendant and it shall stand.

“The tribunal hereby orders the defendant to enter his defence, the no-case-submission is hereby discountenance and refused.

“Moreso, the Standard Operational Procedure is not adopted in the Code of Conduct Bureau presently; the 1999 Constitution is what is guiding the operation of the Bureau as at now, the SOP is full of contradiction.
“This is a court that does not rely on technicalities but substantial fact, the defence counsel ought to have perform his mandatory duty first in the interest of justice.’’
Earlier, Onnoghen, accused the Code of Conduct Bureau of not following set Standard Operation Procedures in instituting the case against him.

Onnoghen, through his Counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, also said that it was illegal and unconstitutional for the prosecution not to comply with rules by investigating the allegation before filling the case.

The suspended CJN added that what the prosecution filed, were mainly hearsay devoid of the true position of the issue in the assets declaration.
He said the allegation on him, were documentary hearsay which is not admisible and should be expunge.
NAN reports that Onnoghen is arraigned at the CCT following a charge against him brought by the Code of Conduct Bureau in January.

The CCB accused Onnoghen of failing to declare his assets from June 2005, after he became a Justice of the Supreme Court till December 2016, two months after the Federal Government raided the homes of several judges, including those of the Supreme Court in October 2018.
According to the six-count charge brought against him, Onnoghen is also accused of false declaration of his assets, following his alleged failure to include some domiciliary accounts managed by the Standard Chartered Bank.

The accounts, created in 2011 and used for the transfer of foreign currencies, were omitted in one of two forms filled on December 14, 2016, by Onnoghen.

According to section 3(d) of the CCB act, the Bureau is empowered to receive complaints about cases of non-compliance with or breach of the act.

The section also empowers the CCB to refer such non-compliance to the CCT where the public officers accused of the alleged breach, will be tried according to the provisions of the act.

NAN reports that the prosecution team led by Aliu Umar presented three witnesses before closing its case on March 21.