The Federal Government, yesterday, through it’s lawyer, Mr. Aliyu Umar, SAN has said that it would continue to pursue the six-count charge which was initiated by the Federal Government against the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN Justice Walter Onnoghen. It said that it would see to the logical conclusion of the case presently being heared at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) court.
The Federal government through it’s lawyer, insisted that Justice Onnoghen, who was suspended from office by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 25, acted in breach of the oath he took as a public officer. It stressed that contrary to Onnoghen’s contention, he isn’t at the CCT for misconducting himself as a judicial officer, but for violating the code of conduct for public officers enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The government said it was, therefore, unnecessary for it to first, channel the allegation against the suspended CJN to the National Judicial Council, NJC, for consideration since the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, was statutorily empowered to investigate and prosecute such infraction.
Consequently, it urged the Danladi Umar-led three-man panel tribunal to okay full-blown hearing of the charge against Onnoghen.