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| Onnoghen |
He is currently facing a six-count charge FG preferred against him before the CCT. He had during trial raise the alarm that his assets declaration form before the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, was tamper with.
The embattled CJN, who was suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, was removed shortly after he fixed date to inaugurate judges that will hear petitions arising from the 2019 general election.
The Federal Government had last week Thursday, closed its case against the suspended CJN after it produced only three witnesses that testified before the tribunal. The first prosecution witness, PW-1, Mr. James Akpala, who is a senior investigative officer at the CCB, had in his testimony, told the tribunal that the charge against Onnoghen was filed before his team concluded investigation on the allegation that he falsely declared his assets.
Similarly, the PW-2, Mr. Awal Yakassai, who is a retired Director at the CCB, told the Mr. Umar led three-man panel that contrary to what was alleged in the media, he said the suspended CJN owned only five houses.
He said it was not true that CCB investigators linked the ownership of 55 houses to the defendant.
The witness made the disclosure after he was shown copies of Justice Onnoghen’s asset declaration forms, which FG tendered in evidence before the CCT. The embattled CJN was said to have submitted the forms marked as Exhibit 2 and 3, to the CCB in 2014 and 2016. Answering questions under cross-examination, the PW-2, admitted that the CCB was yet to verify Justice Onnoghen’s assets with a view to finding out if he made false declarations, before a charge was filed against him.
More so, the PW-3, Mr. Ifeoma Okagbue, a staff of Standard Chartered Bank in Abuja, told the tribunal that it was not true that the defendant possessed either $1million or £1million in any of the five bank accounts that necessitated the charge.
Okagbue who told the tribunal that she started managing Onnoghen’s bank accounts since 2015, gave a load down of both the opening and closing balance of all the accounts from January 2018 to January 2019.
She said the accounts were all linked to one Bank Verification Code, BVN, adding that the bank had upon securing an approval from the defendant, diverted funds from the accounts into various profit yielding ventures. The PW-3 told the tribunal that profits that accrued from the investments were credited back into the accounts.
While two of the accounts are in Naira, the three others were Pounds Sterling, Euro and Dollar accounts. The witness told the tribunal that all the accounts were domiciliary, and were opened and managed at the branch of the bank in Wuse 2, Abuja.
The suit, which was filed by the plaintiff has Mr Mohammed as the defendant.
According to Mr Jideobi in the suit, the minister made reckless statements.
“I know as a fact that the Defendant was extremely reckless in levying an accusation of gargantuan magnitude against the country’s highest judicial office and had no reason to believe in the truth of his assertion of traces of suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the suspended CJN’s personal accounts.
“I know as a fact that obvious lies the Defendant peddled against the Honourable Justice Onnoghen Nkanu Walter Samuel was aimed to destroy him thereby making a caricature of the country’s highest judicial office and turning the entire Judiciary of a nation into a laughing stock,” Mr Jideobi added.
The plaintiff wants the court to determine the following:
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is not a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action?
“Upon the determination of the above question, the plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a court declaration, that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“A declaration of this Honourable Court that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action.”
Consequent upon this, Mr Jideobi is seeking an order of court “committing the Defendant forthwith to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee [LPDC] for proper disciplinary action”.
He also seeks a public apology from Mr Mohammed.
“An order of this Honourable Court commanding the defendant to write a letter of apology and address same to the Body of Bencher reversing himself on the false allegation he laid against the Honourable Justice Onnoghen Walter Samuel and cause same to be published on two National Dailies within Seven (7) days from the date of the delivery of judgment herein and consequently file [at the Registry of this Court] an affidavit of compliance with the said publication attached.”
Vanguard/Premium Times
She said the accounts were all linked to one Bank Verification Code, BVN, adding that the bank had upon securing an approval from the defendant, diverted funds from the accounts into various profit yielding ventures. The PW-3 told the tribunal that profits that accrued from the investments were credited back into the accounts.
While two of the accounts are in Naira, the three others were Pounds Sterling, Euro and Dollar accounts. The witness told the tribunal that all the accounts were domiciliary, and were opened and managed at the branch of the bank in Wuse 2, Abuja.
Lawyer sues minister over ‘false claims’ against Onnoghen
An Abuja based lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, has filed a suit against the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, over an alleged ‘false’ claim he made on the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, that he ran a suspicious transaction running into dollars.The suit, which was filed by the plaintiff has Mr Mohammed as the defendant.
According to Mr Jideobi in the suit, the minister made reckless statements.
“I know as a fact that the Defendant was extremely reckless in levying an accusation of gargantuan magnitude against the country’s highest judicial office and had no reason to believe in the truth of his assertion of traces of suspicious transactions running into millions of dollars to the suspended CJN’s personal accounts.
“I know as a fact that obvious lies the Defendant peddled against the Honourable Justice Onnoghen Nkanu Walter Samuel was aimed to destroy him thereby making a caricature of the country’s highest judicial office and turning the entire Judiciary of a nation into a laughing stock,” Mr Jideobi added.
The plaintiff wants the court to determine the following:
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is not a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action?
“Upon the determination of the above question, the plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a court declaration, that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“A declaration of this Honourable Court that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action.”
Consequent upon this, Mr Jideobi is seeking an order of court “committing the Defendant forthwith to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee [LPDC] for proper disciplinary action”.
He also seeks a public apology from Mr Mohammed.
“An order of this Honourable Court commanding the defendant to write a letter of apology and address same to the Body of Bencher reversing himself on the false allegation he laid against the Honourable Justice Onnoghen Walter Samuel and cause same to be published on two National Dailies within Seven (7) days from the date of the delivery of judgment herein and consequently file [at the Registry of this Court] an affidavit of compliance with the said publication attached.”
Vanguard/Premium Times
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