Osinbajo feels sad about CJN Onnoghen's corruption scandal

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has expressed his sadness over the controversy that has enveloped the judicial arm of government with the trial of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen.

Onnoghen was this week slammed with corruption charges following a petition accusing him of asset declaration offences. He stands accused of failing to declare a series of bank accounts, denominated in local and foreign currencies.

Onnoghen, Nigeria's 17th Chief Justice, is facing six charges of non and fraudulent declaration of assets.

While speaking during a conference by the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, January 16, 2018, Osinbajo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said the situation makes him sad.

"I would rather not have a situation where senior members of my profession were being tried for an offense. Certainly, I'd rather not have that kind of situation. So, I don't feel particularly good about it.

"As a matter of fact, I feel very sad about it that it's going on at all," he said.

Onnoghen's fast-paced investigation and prosecution has been widely-criticised to be a politically-motivated witch hunt by the current government to remove him as head of Supreme Court only a month to the February 16 presidential election.

However, Osinbajo dismissed the allegation, noting that President Muhammadu Buhari himself knew nothing about the petition until Saturday, January 12 when it became public knowledge.

"I must tell you in clear terms that, for President Muhammadu Buhari, his whole approach is that institutions should just do their work.

"I can tell you for a fact that he did not even know about this (CJN trial) until Saturday evening," he said.

Onnoghen's trial

Justice Walter Onnoghen ece-auto-gen

Onnoghen failed to appear when his case, marked CCT/ABJ/01/19, commenced at the CCT on Monday, January 14.

However, the arraignment commenced as the Aliyu Umar-led prosecution team assured the CCT that the defendant had been served with the charges and summons.

The defence team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) was present in court when the arraignment commenced.

During proceedings on Monday, Olanipekun, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), challenged the tribunal's jurisdiction to even entertain the case.

"You have to first determine whether you have the jurisdiction to try this matter," he told the three-member panel headed by Justice Danladi Umar.

He said allegations of a crime against a serving judge should have first been entertained by the National Judicial Council (NJC) before other federal agencies can hope to prosecute for such allegations. He further said the CJN had not been given enough time to properly prepare a defence before he was asked to appear before the tribunal.

While insisting that Onnoghen must appear before the panel to enter his plea, Danladi Umar said he would hear the application challenging the tribunal's jurisdiction during the next hearing scheduled for January 22, 2019.

Shortly after the hearing, the Federal High Court in Abuja ordered the CCT to halt its arraignment of the CJN after ruling on two ex parte applications to stall the tribunal.

Justice N.E Maha, ordered all concerned parties to maintain status quo till January 17 for substantive hearing of the suits.

He ruled that his court must first hear the plaintiffs' motions before the trial can continue at the tribunal.