The Federal Government has applied to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for an arrest warrant for the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
The request of the Federal Government was tendered before the CCT by the lead prosecution lawyer in the case against Onnoghen, Aliyu Umar (SAN), on Wednesday at the resumption of proceedings in the trial, owing to the failure of the suspended CJN to appear in court.
Umar said Onnoghen has consistently absented himself from the tribunal since proceedings commenced on the charge in January this year.
He said both the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Practice Direction of the CCT provides that a defendant must be present in court before proceedings can be conducted in respect of a pending charge.
Lawyer to the defendant, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), was at press time making a counter-argument, urging the court to, among others, reject the prayer for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Onnoghen.
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