From Victor Osula, Abuja
The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has discharged and acquitted former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, from his conviction for false asset declaration by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
While former President, Muhammadu Buhari, had in 2019 removed Onnoghen as CJN, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), led by Umar Yakubu Danladi, on April 18, 2019, found him guilty of false declaration of assets and was made to forfeit the undeclared assets to the federal government.
In his appeal before the appellate court, the former CJN had prayed the court to set aside the judgement of the CCT that removed him from office and ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts.
The former CJN had on September 19, 2024, informed a 3-man panel of justices of the Appeal Court, led by J.O Oyewole, that he and the Federal Government are already having discussions on a peaceful resolution of the dispute.
Based on the terms of settlement adopted by the federal government and Onnoghen, Justice Abba Bello Mohammed, in a ruling on Monday, ordered that the four bank accounts previously ordered to be forfeited be returned to the former CJN.
In a brief statement, Onnoghen’s lawyers, Adegboyega Awomolo and Ogwu James Onoja, both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), expressed gratitude to President Tinubu and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for ensuring the resolution of the issue.
