A federal high court in Abuja has
stopped the plan to arraign Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of Nigeria, before
the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB)
had filed six counts of non-declaration of assets against the CJN. Onnoghen was
summoned to the tribunal but he was absent when the CCT commenced sitting on
Monday.
Ruling on two separate ex parte
applications, N.E Maha, a judge, ordered parties to maintain status quo till
January 17.
He ruled that the defendants
should be served with all the papers filed and that they should appear in court
at the next hearing.
The CCT had adjourned the trial
till January 22.
Danladi Umar, chairman of the
tribunal, adjourned the matter after Wole Olanipekun, counsel to Onnoghen,
argued that his client was not properly served.
Olanipekun said this after Aliyu
Umar, counsel to the government, said Onnoghen ought to be arraigned since he had
been served with the summons.
He said the CJN was served
through his private secretary.
“We went to the CJN’s house and
he (Onnoghen) directed that his private secretary receive it,” Umar said.
However, Olanipekun said as far
as the law was concerned, the CJN had not been served. He said in a matter of
such nature, Onnoghen ought to have been served personally except the court
ordered that he be served via a substituted means.
He also challenged the
jurisdiction of the tribunal, saying it was the National Judicial Council (NJC)
which ought to probe allegations levelled against serving judges.
“Your lordship will first have to
determine the jurisdiction, we have to settle the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
I am surprised that my learned friend is talking about arraignment,” Olanipekun
said.
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