Former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen loses at Appeal Court

Justice Walter Onnoghen, the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), has lost the appeal he filed against his conviction by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false asset charges.

On Friday, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal filed by the ex-CJN challenging the legality of the exparte order by the CCT that led to his suspension.

Recall that the chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Umar, had also refused to recuse himself from the matter on allegation of bias by Onnoghen.

Walter Onnoghen was convicted and suspended from holding any public office for 10 years by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) last month. Onnoghen was removed from office as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).

The ruling which took place, April 19, also directed that all money belonging to Onnoghen in the account will be seized and fortified to the Federal Government. This is due to the fact that he failed to prove to the tribunal how he acquired the monies in the account.

The five accounts which the defendant failed to declare as part of his assets have been ordered by the tribunal to be forfeited.