The office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (AGF) has declared that it cannot find the case file for the trial of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Samuel Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, five years after the conclusion of the trial.
Onnoghen was prosecuted in 2019 by the federal government on charges of false declaration of assets at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, found guilty, and removed from office. He was also ordered to forfeit the undeclared assets to the federal government.
However, at the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, the representative of the federal government, Tijani Gazali, informed the court that the AGF office does not have a single paper related to the trial and conviction of the ex-CJN.
Gazali explained that the trial was contracted to a private lawyer, Aliyu Umar, who has since passed away. He appealed to the court to grant an adjournment to enable the government to retrieve necessary documents from the late lawyer’s chambers.
Counsel to the former CJN, Chris Uche, pointed out that some documents were served on the AGF office and acknowledged. He appealed to the court to allow him to move an application for an accelerated hearing, which was granted.
The Court of Appeal has fixed September 19 for the hearing of the appeal.
Onnoghen is praying the court to set aside the judgment of the CCT that removed him from office and ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts.