Nigeria’s chief justice facing assets charges

ABUJA: Nigeria’s most senior judge has been charged with failing to declare his assets, the Code of Conduct Tribunal said on Saturday.

Tribunal spokesman Ibraheem Al-Hassan said the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, will appear before a panel of three judges in Abuja on Monday.

“Service of summons has been effected on the defendant ... The application was filed yesterday ( Friday) ... containing six charges all bordering on nondeclaration of assets,” he added in a statement.

No further given.

But PR Nigeria, which publishes government press releases, said it allegedly related to several bank accounts in US dollars, euros and sterling.

Under Nigerian law, public officials are bound to declare their assets and are not allowed to have bank accounts in foreign currencies.

The Code of Conduct Tribunal is a special court of ethics which hears cases of alleged nondeclaration or false declaration of assets. — AFP details were