Ahead of the emergency meeting of the National Judicial Council (NJC) slated on Tuesday, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) has sent a list of criminal allegations against suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, to the body, a report by The Cable has claimed.
The report claims Insiders at the ministry of justice say the document contains a number of damaging allegations against the CJN, including bank statements and title deeds of properties said to have been traced to him.
The figures involved are said to be in billions of naira and several millions of dollars — as well as dozens of houses.
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) did not file these criminal allegations against the CJN at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) because it is a separate issue from non-declaration of assets,” the report quoted a senior official of the ministry as saying.
“There have been questions about the legality of Onnoghen’s suspension by the president, but section 11 of the interpretations act states clearly that he who has the power to appoint also has the power to discipline. We are convinced the president acted within the laws of the land.
“Nevertheless, the more serious criminal allegations have now been fully investigated. These allegations point to unexplained wealth. The entire bundle has been sent to the NJC so that the body can do its job and allow Onnoghen to face criminal prosecution. That is a completely different matter from the case of non-declaration of assets before the CCT.”
Many legal practitioners have been argued that the right process abinitio should have been for the executive to forward its charges against the CJN to the NJC instead of the route it took.
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