There were strong indications on
Wednesday that the Federal Government has opted to continue with the trial of
the outgoing Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen at the Code of
Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
It was confirmed on Wednesday at
the CCT that Onnoghen’s lawyers have filed their final address.
The prosecution team is expected
to submit its final address today.
Justice Onnoghen is said to have
bungled his chances to meet with President Buhari to resolve the impasse
amicably in the interest of the
Executive and the Judiciary.
After Justice Onnoghen’s
resignation, it was not immediately clear whether or not President Muhammadu
Buhari would direct that his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal be stopped.
While some government officials
wanted the trial concluded, some members of the Bench and the Bar insisted on
the decision of the National Judicial Council (NJC) to retire Justice Onnoghen.
Although the President was said
to be weighing options on the NJC’s report, which made recommendations on
Justice Onnoghen’s future, a government official said his trial will be
concluded.
The source said: “The government
will not withdraw the case against Onnoghen in CCT in order not to set a bad
precedent.
“We want the case to run its lifespan for posterity and to avoid reading
of political meanings into it. When this case started, there was much uproar,
that it was politically motivated by the presidency. We want the tribunal to
decide the case on merit.
“The NJC’s report also did not
say that the trial be halted. It only demanded the retirement of Onnoghen. This
is why no directive has been given to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which is
prosecuting the case, to withdraw the charges against the CJN.”
The source, who stressed that
there was no deal with Justice Onnoghen over his trial, claimed that the CJN
bungled his chances to decide his fate in the interest of the Judiciary.
The source added: “There were
moves to prevail on the President not to allow the CJN to be on trial in CCT.
The first window came from the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) which sent a
delegation to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The NBA team wanted soft-landing
for Onnoghen. Some terms were agreed upon, including resignation or voluntary
retirement by Onnoghen.
“The NBA team was mandated to
prevail on him to quit honourably in view of some overwhelming allegations
and investigative reports on him. The
CJN, who was initially amenable to reconciliation, later backed out.
“The second mediation was about
another proposed confidential session between President Buhari and Onnoghen,
which was facilitated by some highly-placed Nigerians. They wanted the
President to hear from Onnoghen to pave the way for his quiet retirement from
office without subjecting him to trial.
“The CJN consented to the session
with the President but he aborted it at the last minute without any justifiable
cause.
“Onnoghen had over-relied on the
outcome of NJC’s investigation – that it
would be in his favour. He had no choice than to throw in the towel when the
NJC advised Buhari to retire him. It was at this stage he chose to voluntarily
leave office.”
Speaking with our correspondent
last night, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Dr. Muhammed Isah,
said: “We have not received any directive from the Chief Law Officer of the
Federation, Mallam Abubakar Malami(SAN), who is the Attorney-General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice, to
discontinue the case.”
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