The Code of Conduct Tribunal on Thursday ordered forfeiture of money not declared in the account of the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
Delivering Judgment, Justice Danladi Umar, CCT chairman, found Onnoghen guilty on the six counts preferred against him by the federal government.
CCT says it has jurisdiction to try Onnoghen made false asset declaration by deliberately omitting to declare the five domiciliary accounts he maintained with Standard Chartered Bank, and in which huge deposits were found.
Onnoghen, who was Nigeria’s 17th Chief Justice, was arraigned by the Code of Conduct Bureau, following a petition brought against him by a group, the Anti-Corruption and Research Based Data Initiative, headed by a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress in Enugu State, Denis Aghanya.
Onnoghen was charged on six counts, for allegedly failing to declare some of his accounts in the asset declaration form submitted to the CCB in December, 2016.
According to the charge, Onnoghen also failed to declare his assets after the expiration of his declaration form filled in 2005.
The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has found the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen guilty of violation of the code of conduct for public officers.
CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, in a judgment on Thursday, held that the prosecution proved beyond reasonable doubt that Onnoghen is guilty.
Umar also banned Onnoghen from holding any public office for ten years.
The CCT also ordered the removal of Onnoghen as CJN and as chairman National Judicial Council.
The tribunal after convicting him, ordered among others, his removal from office, barred him from holding public office for the next 10 years and confiscated the funds in the five accounts, which the tribunal said should be forfeited to the Federal Government.
