Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen, is being accused of lying in his asset declaration. Consequently, the Code of Conduct Tribunal has raised a panel to try him.
The tribunal said Saturday that corruption charges had been raised against Onnoghen and that the trial will commence on Monday, January 13.
A petition was filed by a civil society group, Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative, against Onnoghen.
The petition dated January 7, 2019, accuses Onnoghen of managing several accounts through which has been making transfers of local and foreign currencies in “a manner inconsistent with financial accuracy,” the petition signed by the group’s executive secretary, Denis Aghanya, said.
In its statement, the CCT said the trial “was consequent to application filed by the Code of Conduct Bureau to the CCT Chairman yesterday for the trial to commence against the Chief Justice of Nigeria on six count charges”.
“The application was filed yesterday by the operatives of CCB, dated 11st January, 2019 and signed by Musa Ibrahim Usman (Esq) and Fatima Danjuma Ali (Esq), containing 6 count charges all borders on non declaration of asset,” a statement signed by Ibraheem Al-Hassan, head of press and public relations of CCT, added.
Justice Danladi Umar who heads a three-man panel will commence the trial on Monday at its courtroom, at the headquarter, along Jabi Daki Biyu, Saloman Lar way, Abuja, at about 10:00 a.m.
The news of Onnoghen’s trial is making Nigerians to question the type of democracy that the country is practising.