I Was Removed Without Being Told Of My Offence — Ex CJN, Onnoghen

The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen has expressed surprise over his sudden removal without being told of his wrong.

Onnoghen said this during his 70th birthday dinner in his home at Asokoro, Abuja.

“How can you just wake up one morning and they say you have been removed from office. Nobody is ready to tell you anything, all everybody was just saying is resign, resign.

“What have I done?” he queried

Onnoghen maintained that he lived an upright life throughout his career as a judicial officer.

He said, “You did not have to know my wife, my children or anybody close to me to get justice”.

He said within two years as Chief Justice of Nigeria, he brought a lot of innovations and reforms but all “have been abandoned”.

In the dinner were Onnoghen’s predecessor, Justice Mahmud Mohammed (retd); a former Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Kumai Akaahs; the Chief Judge of Borno State, Justice Kashim Zannah; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association; Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN); Chief Rafiu Lawal-Rabana (SAN) and many other dignitaries who paid glowing tributes to him at his 70th birthday dinner on Tuesday.

Recall that on 25 January 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari suspended Onnoghen as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and immediately swore in the most senior Supreme Court Justice, Justice Ibrahim Muhammed, as the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.

According to President Muhammodu Buhari, the act was his way of executing an order ‘ex-parte’ of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, which was granted on 23 January 2019.

The president explained that this became necessary as a result of corruption-related charges that were levied at the Code of Conduct Tribunal against the CJN by the Code of Conduct Bureau. The CJN was said to have grossly violated the provisions of the Code of Conduct for public officers, as stipulated in the Constitution of Nigeria. When confronted with the charges, the CJN had earlier stated in writing that he ‘forgot’ to declare some of his assets to the CCB. Alas, these ‘forgotten assets’ ran into more than a billion naira in various bank accounts, as well as some 55 houses.

Onnoghen never returned to office till his conviction by the CCT and his voluntary retirement in April 2019.