Awal Usman, a former director of
the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), says the asset declaration forms have not
been verified by the bureau since 2016.
Usman said this on Thursday while
testifying in the ongoing trial of Walter Onnoghen, suspended chief justice of
Nigeria (CJN).
Onnoghen is standing trial for a
six-count charge bordering on false asset declaration.
Speaking while he was being
cross-examined by Adeboyega Awomolo, counsel to Onnoghen, the former director
said the forms of public officer holders are kept in a safe place “under lock
and key.”
He said only the chairman of the
bureau can authorise access to he asset declaration forms of any public office
holder.
There are concerns as to how
Dennis Aghanya, the executive secretary of Anti-Corruption and Research Based
Data Initiative (ARDI), got a hold of the suspended CJN’s forms.
When asked again if it was only
the chairman that could authorise access to an asset form, the witness said
“no.”
He said “I don’t know” when he
was asked if he knew if he knew it was a criminal offence to have unauthorised
access to declaration forms.
Usman said he was the one who
received Onnoghen’s forms in 2016.
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