The office of Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), on Tuesday, told the Court of Appeal, Abuja, that it doesn’t have the case file for the trial of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, five years after the conclusion of the trial.
At a resumed sitting on the appeal, the representative of the Federal Government, Tijani Gazali (SAN), informed the Justice C. I. Jombo Ofo led 3-man appellate court panel that not a single paper in respect of the trial and conviction of the ex-CJN was with the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Gazali told the panel that the trial of Onnoghen was contracted to a Kano-based private lawyer, Aliyu Umar SAN, who died four years ago.
He therefore appealed to the panel to grant an adjournment to enable the office of the AGF to approach the chambers of the late private lawyer to retrieve necessary documents to respond to the appeal.
The FG lawyer said virtually all the processes served on the AGF in 2019, were taken to a private lawyer.
He said the matter was being looked into from another perspective with a view to working out an amicable resolution of issues in dispute by the new Attorney General of the Federation.
Reacting, Onnoghen’s counsel, Chris Uche SAN, submitted that some documents were actually served and acknowledged by the office of the AGF
He appealed to the panel to allow him to move an application for an accelerated hearing, which was granted upon no objections from the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, Justice Jombo Ofo, has fixed September 19 for the hearing of the appeal.
Recall that the Code of Conduct Tribunal had in 2019, convicted Onnoghen in all the 6-count charges of breach of code of conduct for public officers preferred against him by the Federal Government while in office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Chairman of the CCT, Danladi Yakubu Umar, had in a lead judgment ordered the immediate removal of Onnoghen from office as the CJN.
The CCT also ordered the removal of Onnoghen from all offices he hitherto occupied, which were, Chairman of the National Judicial Council, (NJC), and also the chairmanship of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.
More so, the tribunal ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts and the monies therein, which Onnoghen did not declare in his assets declaration form, he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), an agency of the Federal Government.
Though suspended since January 25, 2019, Onnoghen resigned officially on April 4, 2019, but the tribunal ordered his sack from office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Not satisfied with judgment of the CCT, the embattled former CJN, in 2019, headed to the Court of Appeal to seek redress.
