The Court of Appeal has dismissed a motion filed by suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen for Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to stop his trial .
The court in a ruling on Wednesday said the request brought by Mr Onnoghen “was brought in a vacuum,” without a proper backing of legal provisions why it should have been granted.
According to the appellate court, Mr Onnoghen’s lawyers had argued that their application was brought because the tribunal, on January 14 refused to entertain their request challenging the jurisdiction of the court with other motions before proceeding with the main trial.
The court, however, read through the words used during the January 14 adjournment of the tribunal wherein the CCT slated January 22 for hearing of motions in the matter.
“Matter is hereby adjourned till Tuesday. Motions to be taken,” said Justice Abdul Aboki while reading through the tribunal’s ruling on January 14.
“The above stated decision is an adjournment for motions filed by the two parties,” the appeal court ruled.
According to the appellate court, the words used by the tribunal did not suggest the submissions made by the applicant. The court questioned the likelihood of its jurisdiction to grant such order as requested, given the evidence before it.
The ruling implies that the CCT can now proceed with the trial of the chief justice for alleged false asset declaration. The CCT had postponed the trial based on last week’s directive of the appeal court.
