The Court of Appeal in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen seeking stay of execution on his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The decision by the appeal court comes one day after the National Judicial Council gave Justice Onnoghen seven days to respond to allegations of false asset declaration.
Onnoghen had approached the court, arguing the CCT had no jurisdiction to preside over the case.
The federal government is prosecuting Onnoghen at the CCT for alleged false assets declaration.
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The Court of Appeal had on 24 January ordered a stay of proceedings on the trial of Walter Onnoghen.
Justice Abdul Aboki, leading two other justices of the appellate court, held that the order was a temporary stay pending ruling on a substantive motion brought by the CJN.
Wole Olanipekun, SAN, had approached the court praying for an order restraining the CCT from proceeding with Onnoghen’s trial pending the determination of an application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
The Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) had filed a six-count charge against Onnoghen bothering on allegation of non-assets declaration.
At the resumption of the trial on Jan.14, the arraignment of the defendant was stalled as his team of counsel claimed he was not properly served with the notice of summons.
However, on the following adjourned date, being Jan. 22, the tribunal was prepared to commence the trial when it had established that the defendant had been properly served with the notice of summons.
The process was stalled again with the absence of the defendant and a motion brought by Olanipekun urging the tribunal to restrain itself from continuing with the trial.
The defendant’s counsel had brought to the knowledge of the panel of three subsisting restraining orders from High Courts in Abuja barring it from continuing the trial.
Olanipekun had also insisted that the defendant’s motion challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to handle the matter should be treated first before any other proceeding could happen.
