Onnoghen: CCT Delivers Judgement

Pat Stevens/

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has fixed Thursday for its final judgment in the trial of Justice Walter Onnoghen on charges of false and non-declaration of assets.

The tribunal led by Danladi Umar fixed the date for judgment after the prosecution led by Mr. Aliyu Umar (SAN), and the defence led by Mr. Okon Efut (SAN), adopted their final addresses today.

In their final arguments, the defence team argued that the prosecution failed to prove the six counts beyond reasonable doubt as required by law and urged the tribunal to dismiss the case.

They maintained that the statement made by Onnoghen to the Code of Conduct Bureau was not confessional as alleged by the prosecution.

Efut added that the charges against Onnoghen were incompetent and unconstitutional, as they were based on the provisions of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and Bureau Act which were in conflict with the relevant provisions of the Constitution.

But the prosecution argued that the defence was trying to redefine what constituted “proof beyond a reasonable doubt”.

Umar urged the tribunal to hold that the prosecution indeed proved the case beyond reasonable doubt and “return a guilty verdict”.

The tribunal chairman said the verdict would be delivered along with two pending rulings on Onnoghen’s applications, one challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the case and another one asking the CCT chairman to disqualify himself from further presiding over the case for being allegedly bias.