The Abuja Division of Court of Appeal has fixed February 27, 2019, for
definite hearing of the three different appeals brought before it by
the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
When the matter came up Wednesday for hearing, counsel to the
federal government, Alhaji Aliyu Umar (SAN) told the panel of Justices
of the Court of Appeal, sitting on the matter that he needed time to
study the case file which was recently handed over to him.
The court has since adjourned till February 27 to hear all appeals, a
decision that was not objected by Onnoghen’s counsel, Chief Chris Uche
(SAN). On the last sitting on the appeal, counsel had agreed to have
the three appeals heard together, so as to save time.
Uche told the three-member panel of justices of the appellate court
that he had already written a letter to the presiding Justice, Abdul
Aboki, dated January 30, 2019, praying the court to determine the
three appeals together and that the federal government as a respondent
agreed to the position.
Counsel to the federal government, during the last hearing of the
appeal, on February 4, 2019, Oyin Koleoso, confirmed that the two
parties agreed that the three appeals be heard together.
Onnoghen, in his first appeal, filed through his team of lawyers is
challenging the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to
try him on the six-count charge, of non-disclosure of his assets at
the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB).
