Appeal Court Acquits Ex-Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen, Orders Unfreezing Of Bank Accounts
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Monday cleared former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen of charges that led to his 2019 removal from office.
In 2019, then-President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Justice Onnoghen as CJN on January 25, 29 days before the presidential election, and appointed the next senior Supreme Court justice, Justice Tanko Muhammad, to head the judiciary. Onnoghen’s suspension, which came just eight hours after he planned to inaugurate election petition tribunal judges, sparked widespread reactions. The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) called the move a “coup against the judiciary.”
Following the suspension, Onnoghen was convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on six counts of corruption, including an alleged false declaration to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Now, nearly six years later, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal, led by Justice Mohammed Bello, has discharged and acquitted Onnoghen based on a settlement agreement reached with the federal government. President Bola Tinubu, through the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, urged the court to halt three pending appeals Onnoghen had filed over his removal, conviction, and asset seizure.
As part of the October 24 settlement, the court directed the federal government to immediately unfreeze Onnoghen’s account with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited.
