Justice Onnoghen Rejects Conviction, Lawyers File Appeal

The suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria,Justice Walter Onnoghen,  who was Thursday convicted on six counts bordering on false declaration of his assets, removed from office and barred from holding public office for ten years by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), has appealed the judgment of the court at the Court of Appeal.

Onnoghen’s lawyers filed the appeal moments after the court convicted him in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.

The federal government was listed as the only respondent in the appeal filing made available to the media.

“Take notice that the appellant herein, Justice Onnoghen Nkanu Walter Samuel being dissatisfied with the rulings/judgement of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Coram Danladi Umar (Chairman), William Atedze (Member I) and Julie A Anakor (Member II) delivered on the 18th of April, 2019, wherein it ruled on the application challenging its jurisdiction and to recuse itself from the proceedings as well the judgement on the substantive matter against the appellant, do hereby appeal upon the grounds set out in paragraph 3 hereof and will at the hearing of the appeal, seek the reliefs and orders set out in paragraph 4,” the filing said.

Onnoghen said the CCT erred in law when it dismissed his application challenging its jurisdiction and thus, occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice, adding that the Tribunal erred in law when it dismissed his application seeking the chairman to recuse himself from further proceedings on the ground of “bias”.

The embattled justice however, sought an order of the appeal court allowing his appeal and that the CCT lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the case. He also asked the court to set aside his conviction as well as discharge and acquit him, among other prayers.