Code Of Conduct Tribunal Case File of Former Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen Missing from Attorney General’s Office.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) has reported that it cannot locate the case file related to the 2019 trial of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen. This revelation was made on Tuesday during a session at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, where the federal government’s legal representative, Tijani Gazali, SAN, disclosed that the documents pertaining to the trial are not available in the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Onnoghen was prosecuted by the federal government in 2019 on charges of false declaration of assets. The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) subsequently found him guilty, resulting in his removal from office and the forfeiture of undeclared assets to the government.
Walter Onnoghen and FG
Gazali explained to the Court of Appeal that the trial was managed by Aliyu Umar, SAN, a private lawyer based in Kano, who has since passed away.
Due to this, many of the legal processes and documents from 2019 were directed to Umar’s chambers, and the federal government currently lacks access to them.
In light of this, Gazali requested an adjournment to give the government time to retrieve the necessary documents from the late lawyer’s chambers. He also mentioned that the new AGF is considering an amicable resolution to the matter.
However, Chris Uche, SAN, who represents Walter Onnoghen, argued that some of the documents related to the case had indeed been served and acknowledged by the AGF’s office. Uche called for an accelerated hearing of the appeal, a request that was granted after no objections were raised by the federal government.
Justice C. I. Jombo Ofo, leading the panel, scheduled the accelerated hearing for September 19. Onnoghen, who was present in court, is appealing the CCT’s 2019 judgment that led to his removal and the forfeiture of his five bank accounts.
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The case continues to draw significant attention, as Onnoghen seeks to overturn the decision that ended his tenure as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.