- Throws out Onnoghen’s suit
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has stated that there is no record of the judgement of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) which found former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, guilty of six-count charges for reference in an appeal case.
The appeal court, therefore, threw out the appeal filed by the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen. The court held that the appeal had been spent and the substantive suit had been heard and concluded at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The appeal court stated that there was no need to go into the merit of the interlocutory appeal challenging the ex parte order of the CCT which ordered Justice Onnoghen to step aside as the CJN.
On the judgement of the Tribunal delivered on February 13, the appeal court held that there was no record of the said order before it. The court maintained that as a result of no record of the said proceedings, a decision cannot be entered. The court, thereafter, struck out the appeal.
Justice Onnoghen had appealed the motion ex parte by the Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Umar, which ordered him to step aside as the CJN pending the determination of his trial.
The former Chief Justice of Nigeria protested that the order of the Tribunal was procured behind his back when parties had already joined issues and when the prosecutor had on January 22 told the CCT that the order would be sought on the next adjourned date.