CCT orders CCB director to appear as witness for Onnoghen

The Code of Conduct Tribunal Monday ordered a director of the Code of Conduct Bureau in Benin Mrs Theresa Nwafor to appear as a witness for suspended Nigeria’s Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen.

CCT Chairman, Justice Danladir Umar, ordered Nwafor to appear before the tribunal on Wednesday by 10 am, following a request by Justice Onnoghen’s counsel.

Onnoghen is arraigned at the CCT following a charge against him brought by the Code of Conduct Bureau in January.

The CCB accused Onnoghen of failing to declare his assets from June 2005, after he became a Justice of the Supreme Court till December 2016, two months after the Federal Government raided the homes of several judges, including those of the Supreme Court in October 2018.

According to the six-count charge brought against him, Onnoghen is also accused of false declaration of his assets, following his alleged failure to include some domiciliary accounts managed by the Standard Chartered Bank.

President Muhammadu Buhari said in January that apart from the “grievous” allegations against Onnoghen, “the security agencies have since then traced other suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the CJN’s personal accounts, all undeclared or improperly declared as required by law.”

“In line with this administration’s avowed respect for the Rule of Law, I have wholeheartedly obeyed the Order of the Code of Conduct Tribunal dated 23rd January 2019,” Buhari said.

He said the suspended CJN’s excuse that the non-declaration was due to mistake and forgetfulness was not known to law.

At the sitting on Monday, Adegboyega Awomolo, made a request for Nwafor to be summoned to appear as a witness for the CJN, a position the prosecution counsel did not object to. Hence the order for Nwafor.

A second witness Lawal Busari, the suspended CJN driver, stood as a witness for the CJN.

Busari said he picked up the asset declaration form for the CJN and also submitted it to the CCB after the CJN had filled it.