Onnoghen’s Illegal Removal as CJN

After framing a former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen to remove him from office illegally, the federal government has settled out-of-court with him.

Onnoghen was convicted under strange circumstances by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on April 18, 2019.

In a brazen display of impunity and lawlessness, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had on January 11, 2019 charged the then-CJN with non-declarations of his assets between 2005 and 2016. 

Before Onnoghen’s arraignment on January 23, 2019, the CCT issued a controversial order for his suspension from office.

Acting on a prepared script, the then-President Buhari on January 23, 2019 suspended him from office to face trial.

While being prosecuted by the CCT, Onnoghen was also undergoing disciplinary proceedings at the National Judicial Council (NJC). Before the CCT trial ended, he tendered his letter of voluntary retirement.

Despite his resignation, on April 18, 2019, the CCT still went ahead to convict him, ordered his removal from office, barred him from holding public office for 10 years and ordered the forfeiture of the undeclared assets.

In March 2021, Onnoghen spoke publicly about his illegal removal for the first time, saying he was framed with false allegation of meeting former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Buhari’s main rival in the 2019 presidential election.

However, based on a term of settlement submitted to the court by the federal government and the former CJN, which the court adopted, the parties were unanimous that the CCT erred in convicting him without first, resorting to the NJC, the body constitutionally empowered to discipline judicial officers in the country.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal in Abuja last Monday discharged and acquitted him. 

In a judgment, the three-member panel of the court, presided over by Justice Abba Mohammed, ordered the release of his assets, including bank accounts, which the CCT had ordered to be forfeited to the federal government.

A man who rose to the peak of his career was unjustly disgraced out of office by an administration whose notoriety for human rights abuses, impunity and lawlessness was worse than military regimes.

 Any how it is viewed, Onnoghen’s illegal removal was one dark chapter in Nigeria’s history that should not be allowed to repeat itself.