Onnoghen: Court of Appeal reserves judgment

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has adjourned indefinitely the appeals filed by the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.

A three-member panel of justices presided by Justice Stephen Adah adjourned the matter after the parties argued their applications before the court on Wednesday.

Onnoghen filed the four appeals following the charges of false asset declaration before the CCT.

Onnoghen’s counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and Chris Uche (SAN) argued that the ex parte order suspending the CJN was secretly granted on January 23 by the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar after he adjourned the criminal case before him to January 28.

Uche said the tribunal ought to have determined the issue of jurisdiction first being challenged by Onnoghen before the ex parte order, maintaining that the order should be examined.

“The processes showed that no counsel applied for the order, even though it indicated that the respondent’s lawyer was present when it was signed,” Uche said.

However, counsel to the federal government, Aliyu Umar (SAN) took exception to a claim that his name was on the controversial ex parte order.

Umar urged the appellate court to dismiss the four appeals by the suspended CJN, maintaining that lacked the it sufficient materials to successfully evaluate the circumstance leading to the ex-parte order that President Muhammadu Buhari relied on to suspend Onnoghen on January 25.