Justice Onnoghen granted bail on self-recognition after he appears at CCT and pleads not guilty

EMBATTLED chief judge of Nigeria Justice Walter Onnoghen has been granted bail on self-recognition and his case adjourned until March 11 after he appeared before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to answer six cases of misconduct this morning.

Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Justice Onnoghen and replaced him with Justice Tanko Mohammed, who was sworn-in as the acting chief judge of Nigeria (CJN). Justice Onnoghen has been involved in intense political jockeying with the government that involved him being charged before the CCT and the matter is now the subject of several law suits.

While the matter was still pending in court, President Buhari decided to suspend Justice Onnoghen, leading to accusations that he interfering with the independence of the judiciary. After refusing to appear in person before the CCT, Justice Onnoghen finally showed up today, accompanied by a large team of lawyers, after he was threatened with arrest if he missed another hearing.

At the brief hearing, Justice Onnoghen pleaded not guilty to the six counts filed against him by the federal government and his lead counsel Chris Uche, made an oral application for bail which the tribunal accepted. CCT chairman Justice Danladi Umar accepted the application and adjourned the case until March 11to hear all pending applications.

Among the six counts filed against Justice Onnoghen were that he failed to disclose his assets as prescribed by law and operated foreign bank accounts. It also alleged that contrary to relevant laws regulating the conduct of public office holders, he maintained domiciliary foreign currencies accounts including dollar, pound sterling and euro accounts.

However, before the tribunal proceeded with the matter, Mr Uche pleaded that the order or warrant of arrest slammed against his client be vacated. Tribunal chairman Justice Umar approve this request but said it would be on the condition that Justice Onnoghen makes himself available whenever needed.

After the bail was granted, Mr Uche also applied to the tribunal to adjourn to a date after the general elections and this request was granted. Earlier this week, Justice Onnoghen secured a court order barring the federal government from freezing his bank accounts.