AGF’s office: We have no record of ex-CJN Onnoghen’s CCT case file

• as court grants accelerated hearing

By Vivian Okejeme Abuja

Five years after the conclusion of the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Samuel Walter Onnoghen’s trial, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF), revealed that it has no record of the case file.
The counsel from the office of the AGF, Tijani Gazali SAN, informed the appeal court that not a single paper in respect of the trial and conviction of the ex-CJN was with the Federal Ministry of Justice.
In 2019, the former CJN was prosecuted by the federal government on false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, found guilty, and was ousted from office.
The judgement ordered him to forfeit the undeclared assets to the federal government.
Onnoghen, who was in court to witness the proceedings, is praying the Court of Appeal to set aside the judgement of the CCT that removed him from office and ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts
When the appeal was called for hearing, Gazali, informed the three-man panel of Justices led by Justice C. I. Jombo Ofo, that the trial of the former CJN was contracted to a Kano-based private lawyer, Aliyu Umar SAN.
He explained that the said private senior lawyer who prosecuted the case from the beginning to the end had died four years ago.
He therefore, appealed to the Court to grant an adjournment to enable the government to approach the chambers of the late private lawyer to retrieve necessary documents to respond to the appeal.
Submitting further, he said that virtually all the processes served on the AGF in 2019 were taken to a private lawyer.
Besides, Gazali said that the matter was being looked into from another perspective with a view to working out an amicable resolution of issues in dispute by the new AGF.
Responding, counsel to the former CJN, Chris Uche SAN, drew attention to the Court that some documents were actually served on the AGF office and acknowledged.
Uche appealed to the Court to allow him to move an application for an accelerated hearing, which was granted upon no objections from the federal government.
Subsequently, the matter is adjourned till September 19, for the hearing.