News
CCT Resumes Onnoghen’s Trial, Monday
Following a request from the Federal Government, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja, yesterday, fixed February 4 to resume proceedings on the non assets declaration charge pending against the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen.
The Mr. Danladi Umar-led tribunal, in a statement made available to newsmen, disclosed that the Federal Government had in a letter that was signed by two legal officers at the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), Musa Ibrahim Usman and Fatima Danjuma Ali, applied for continuation of hearing on the charges against Onnoghen.
Onnoghen, who was last Friday, suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari, is facing a six-count charge bothering on his alleged failure to declare his assets as prescribed by the law.
He was in the charge marked CCT/ABJ/01/19, equally accused of maintaining five separate foreign bank accounts, in breach of the code of conduct for public office holders.
In the statement signed by the Head, Press and Public Relations, at the CCT, Mr. Ibraheem Al-Hassan, the Federal Government, via the letter it sent through the CCB, last Wednesday, drew attention of the Umar’s three-member panel to a ruling of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which cleared the coast for Onnoghen’s trial to proceed.
According to Al-Hassan, the Federal Government’s request read in part: “The above subject refers.
“This case came up for hearing of preliminary objection to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal on the 28th of January, 2019 but the Tribunal could not proceed due to the pendency of the case at the Court of Appeal.
“However, in the wake of this afternoon, 30th January, 2019, the Court of Appeal has thrown out the appeal.
“Consequently on the above, we urge the Honourable Tribunal to give us a date for resumption of the trial subject to the convenience of the Tribunal, most obliged my Lord”.
The appellate court had in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel led by Justice Abdul Aboki, declined Onnoghen’s request for his trial to be temporarily suspended, pending the determination of an appeal he lodged to challenge the competence of the charge and the procedure adopted by the CCT.
In the appeal he lodged on January 15, the suspended CJN, who had on two occasions, declined to appear before the CCT to enter his plea to the charge, contended that the Umar-led tribunal erred in law when it decided to hear the preliminary objection he filed to quash the charge, alongside a motion the Federal Government filed to secure an order to remove him as both the CJN and chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Onnoghen insisted that it was wrong for the tribunal to hear and determine the Federal Government’s motion when its jurisdiction to entertain the substantive charge was being challenged.
He, therefore, prayed the appellate court to set-aside the decision of the CCT as contained in a ruling its chairman delivered on January 14.
Meanwhile, before the appeal could be heard, Onnoghen, on January 18, filed a motion wherein he prayed the appellate court to stay further proceedings in the case against him.
Based on the motion, the Appeal Court, on January 24, ordered the Umar-led CCT panel to suspend further proceedings in the matter to enable it to consider Onnoghen’s request.
The order of the court came barely 24 hours after the Federal Government secured an ex-parte order from the tribunal, which gave President Muhammadu Buhari the nod to suspend Onnoghen and swear-in the most senior jurist of the Supreme Court, Justice Tanko Muhammad, as the acting CJN.
At its resumed sitting, last Wednesday, the appellate court vacated its initial order that stopped the CCT from taking further steps in Onnoghen’s trial.
The appellate court held that granting the suspended CJN’s motion would amount to a “fundamental interruption” of a criminal proceeding before the CCT.
It noted that Onnoghen himself had in a judgment he delivered in a case involving a firm owned by former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, Destra Investment Limited, banned the grant of stay of proceeding in criminal matters.
Aboki further recalled that the suspended CJN had in another case that involved the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, identified the CCT as a special court with quasi-criminal jurisdiction.
He maintained that section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, expressly forbade courts from granting orders to stay proceedings in criminal cases.
“We cannot run away from the fact that the CCT which has quasi-criminal jurisdiction does not have an option than to abide and apolitical the criminal laws in all proceedings before it”, Aboki added.
Consequently, the appellate court dismissed Onnoghen’s appeal, stressing that the order from stay of proceedings he requested for could not be granted as a matter of cause.
“An applicant must convince the court that grant of such order will be in the interest of justice”, the court held, saying there was no “special or exceptional circumstance”, to warrant the suspension of the case pending against Onnoghen before the CCT.
“The applicants’ motion for an order for stay of proceeding is hereby refused”, Aboki ruled.
Nevertheless, the appellate court fixed February 4 to hear the substantive appeal the suspended CJN filed to challenge decision of the CCT to hear his preliminary objection alongside the Federal Government’s motion to remove him from office.
It will be recalled that the CCT had last Monday, adjourned Onnoghen’s trial sine-die (indefinitely) to await the outcome of the appellate court’s ruling.
Onnoghen had through his team of lawyers led by Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, contended that his objection and the Federal Government’s motion were mutually exclusive, and as such, could not be heard together.
He argued that the tribunal ought to firstly determine whether or not it has the requisite jurisdiction to handle the charge against him, before it could proceed to hear any other application.
Specifically, Justice Onnoghen faulted the competence of his trial before the CCT on the premise that the Federal Government failed to allow the NJC to investigate the allegations against him, before it proceeded to prefer a criminal charge against him.
Aside the instant appeal, Onnoghen had also lodged another appeal to challenge the ex-parte order the CCT issued for his suspension.
In the four grounds of appeal he filed, last Tuesday, Onnoghen, argued that the CCT erred in law by granting an ex-parte order for his removal, even it had yet to determine whether or not it has the jurisdiction to try him.
He, therefore, applied for, “An order setting aside the order of the tribunal made on the 23rd of January, directing the appellant to step aside as the Chief Justice of Nigeria and a further order that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria takes all necessary measures to swear-in the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria and Chairman of the National Judicial Council”.
More so, the appellant maintained that “the exercise of powers over the motion ex-parte without first determining the jurisdiction of the tribunal amounted to unlawful exercise of jurisdiction and therefore void”.
The NJC, which is the organ of the judiciary with the statutory mandate to discipline judicial officers, had last Tuesday, handed the suspended CJN seven days to respond to the allegations against him.
The legal body equally gave the same number of days to the Acting CJN, to adduce reasons why disciplinary actions should not be taken against him for presenting himself to President Buhari to be sworn-in to replace Onnoghen.
Likewise, the council forwarded a petition accusing the CCT chairman of engaging in reckless abuse of his judicial powers by granting the ex-parte order that led to Onnoghen’s suspension, to the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
Rivers State Head of Service, Dr (Mrs) Inyingi Brown, has called on rural communities in the State to embrace the Rural Access and Agricultural marketing project (RAAMP) with a view to improving their living conditions.
This follows the ongoing sensitization campaign by the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) visits to Degema, Abonnema, Afam headquarters of Degema, Akuku Toru and Oyigbo Etche and Omuma local government areas respectively.
Dr Brown who was represented by the Deputy Director, Special Duties in her office, Mrs Dein Akpanah, said RAAMP was initiated by the Federal Government and World Bank to economically empower rural dwellers.s
She said the World Bank understands the plights of rural farmers and traders in the State, and therefore came up with the programme to address them.
According to her, RAAMP will improve the conditions of farmers, traders and fishermen, and therefore, behoves on every rural communities in the State to embrace the programme.
The Head of Service also said the programme would support the youths to be gainfully employed while bridges and roads will be built to link farms and fishing settlements.
Also speaking, the State project coordinator, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the programme has the potential of creating millionaires among farmers and fishermen in the State.
Kpakol who was represented by Engr. Sam Tombari, said RAAMP would help farmers and fishermen to preserve their produce.
According to him, the project will build cold rooms and Silos for preservation of crops and fishes while access roads will also be created to link farmers and fishermen to the market.
He, however, warned them against any act that will lead to the suspension of the projects by the World Bank.
Kpakol particularly warned against acts such as kidnapping, marching ground, gender based violence and child labour, adding that such acts if they occur may lead to the cancellation of the project by the World Bank.
During the visit to Oyigbo local government area, Mr Joshua Kpakol, said the team was there to let them know how they will benefit from the Raamp.
The coordinator who was personally at Oyigbo said the World Bank introduced the project to check food insecurity in the State.
He said already 19 states in Nigeria are already benefitting from the project and called on them to embrace the project.
Meanwhile, stakeholders in the three local government areas have commended the World Bank for including their areas in the project.
They, however, complained over the incessant attacks by pirates on their waterways.
At Degema, King Agolia of Ke kingdom said land was a major problem in the kingdom.
King Agolia represented by High Chief Alpheus Damiebi said many indigenes of the kingdom are willing to go into farming but are handicapped by lack of land.
Also at Degema, the representative of the Omu Onyam Ekeim of Usokun Degema kingdom, Osoabo Isaac, said Degema has embraced the programme but needed more information on the implementation of the programme.
Similarly, while High Chief Precious Abadi advised that the project should not be narrowed to only crop farming, a community women leader, Mrs Orikinge Eremabo Otto, called for the construction of cold rooms in all fishing settlements in the area.
At Abonnema, Mr Diamond Kio linked the problem of the area to incessant piracy along waterways.
He also expressed fears over the possibility of the project being hijacked by politicians.
Also at Abonnema, a stakeholder, Ikiriko Kelvin, called on the World Bank to design an agricultural project that will suit the riverine environment, while at Oyigbo, HRH Eze Boniface Akawo expressed satisfaction with the project.
John Bibor
The political mudslinging between the Senate leadership and Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan continued yesterday as the Senate named Senator Aniekan Bassey as the new Chairman of the Committee on Diaspora and Non-Governmental Organisations.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the appointment during yesterday’s plenary, confirming Bassey’s replacement of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, who is currently on suspension.
Akpoti-Uduaghan was reassigned to the Diaspora and NGOs Committee in February after she was removed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Local Content during a minor reshuffle.
Bassey is the senator representing Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
Although no reason was given for her removal yesterday, the change is believed to be connected to her unresolved suspension.
In May, Justice Binta Nyako of the Federal High Court ordered her reinstatement and directed her to tender an apology to the Senate.
However, the Senate has insisted it has not received a certified true copy of the court judgment.
Akpoti-Uduaghan who represents Kogi Central, has yet to resume her legislative duties despite a recent court ruling that voided her suspension.
In a televised interview on Tuesday, Akpoti-Uduaghan said she was awaiting the Certified True Copy of the judgment before officially returning to plenary, citing legal advice and respect for institutional process.
Although the Federal High Court described her suspension as “excessive and unconstitutional”, a legal opinion dated July 5 and attributed to the Senate’s counsel, Paul Daudu (SAN), argued that the ruling lacked any binding directive to enforce her reinstatement.
Akpoti-Uduaghan, one of only three female senators in the current assembly, said the continued delay in allowing her return was not only a denial of her mandate but also a blow to democratic representation.
“By keeping me out of the chambers, the Senate is not just silencing Kogi Central, it’s denying Nigerian women and children representation. We are only three female senators now, down from eight,” she said.