NJC recommends Onnoghen for retirement over $1.7m cash

The National Judicial Council (NJC) has recommended the compulsory retirement of embattled CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen.

According to TheNation, the NJC made the recommendation based on “incontrovertible” findings on him by EFCC.

The members of the NJC, on Wednesday, unanimously agreed that Onnoghen has lost the moral authority to continue as CJN with the litany of allegations bordering on misconduct.

The NJC – which handles disciplinary issues of judicial officers – asked President Muhammadu Buhari to give effect to the recommendation immediately.

The council, however, urged the President to allow Justice Onnoghen to retain his seat as a former CJN in the Council of State and should be retired with full benefits.

According to TheNation, NJC arrived at its decision because the “EFCC’s report on Justice Onnoghen was damning and incontrovertible”.

The anti-graft agency accused the CJN of “being in possession of funds which are fairly not attributable to his known, provable and legitimate source of income”.

The opening of a dollar account in Standard Chartered Bank for the CJN by a lawyer, Joe Agi, with $30,000 was said to be unhealthy. The EFCC had accused Justice Onnoghen of being unable to account for curious deposits in his accounts.

The anti-graft commission alleged that deposits had accumulated to $1,716, 000. The amounts in the said account were deposited as follows: $74,200 (2009); $291,800 (2010); $340,000 (2011); $625,000 (2012); $298,000 (2013); $40,000 (2015) and $47,000 (2016).

The total was $1,716,000. The agency also accused Justice Onnoghen of depositing $1,716,000 in a U.S dollar account operated with the Standard Chartered Bank in 2009, marked as exhibit P4 C, between 2009 and 2016.