illiterato:
1)
The suspended CJN Walter Onnoghen was accused and charged before the Code of Conduct Tribunal with six counts of false asset declaration on January 11, 2019.
The charge sheet reads, in part,

"That you, Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, CJN, GCON between 8th June 2005 to 14th December 2016 being a public officer serving as a Judicial Officer in the Federal Republic of Nigeria as a Justice of the Supreme Court failed to declare and submit a written declaration of all your assets and liabilities within the prescribed period of three months after being sworn in as the Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the 8th day of June 2005 and you thereby contravened the provisions of Section 15(1) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act Cap C15 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria( LFN) 2004 and punishable under Section 23(2) a, b, c, of the same Act."

Five counts of false asset declaration are listed subsequently, related to each of the alleged five Standard Chartered Bank accounts of Justice Onnoghen.




2)
The Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act Cap C15 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria( LFN) 2004 was referred to in the charges against Justice Onnoghen, specifically section 15, which states:

15. Declaration of assets

(1) Every public officer shall, within fifteen months after the coming into force of this Act or immediately after taking office and thereafter-

(a) at the end of every four years;

(b) at the end of his term of office; and

(c) in the case of a serving officer, within thirty days of the receipt of the form from the Bureau or at such other intervals as the Bureau may specify, submit to the Bureau a written declaration in the Form prescribed in the First Schedule to this Act or, in such form as the Bureau may, from time to time, specify, of all his properties, assets and liabilities and those of his spouse or unmarried children under the age of twenty-one years.

So Justice Onnoghen's accusers claim he falsely declared, or failed to declare his assets between 2014 and 2016, as required by the CCB Act.

Ordinarily, we would need an investigation into whether this was the case, viz, asset verification, and if any undeclared assets were found, there would be proof of guilt against Justice Onnoghen.




3)
However, Justice Onnoghen has provided evidence in his response to a query by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), which filed the six-count charge against him.

He stated:

I WALTER S. N. ONNOGHEN of THE SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA hereby voluntarily depose to the statement averred herein knowing that whatever I write or state may be tendered against me as evidence in court. I also volunteer to state that the statement was not taken in evidence from me under duress but after the administering officer has explained and made known the details of the allegations against me.

My Asset Declaration for Nos. SCN000014 and SCN.0000 5 were declared on the same day, 14th December, 2016 because I forgot to make a declaration of May, 2005 declaration of my assets after the expiration of my 2005 declaration in 2009. Following my appointment as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria in November, 2016 the need to declare my asset anew made to realize the mistake and then did the declarations to cover the period in default. I did not include my Standard Chartered Bank Account in SCN. 000014 because I believed they were not opened during the period covered by the declaration.

He admitted a contravention of the provisions of the CCB Act, [/b]by failing to declare his assets at the expiration of the prior declaration in 2009.

[b]But this is not the charge he faces at the CCT.
The CCT accused him of not declaring assets he (according to him) did not possess in the period covered by the charge of false/non-asset declaration.

Once he proves (as he did yesterday) that he did not possess the Standard Chartered Bank accounts before 2009, he can make a no-case submission (as he requested yesterday), which means the prosecution has no case against him.

But the FG can choose to file fresh charged against the CJN, (as I think they will) this time they could charge Jusice Onnoghen with non-declaration of assets between 2009 and 2016.
That is a case they are more likely to win.


References:
The Nation http://thenationonlineng.net/fg-files-charges-cjn-3m-five-accounts/
CCB Act http://lawnigeria.com/LawsoftheFederation/CODE-OF-CONDUCT-BUREAU-AND-TRIBUNAL-ACT.html

The Cable https://www.thecable.ng/revealed-what-onnoghen-told-ccb-on-his-asset-declaration-full-text/amp

fuckerholic:
Now that onoghen has won what happens to that Mohammed of an impostor and the position of CJN ?

richidinho:
The moment he accepted he made a mistake by not declaring his assets, the law says you simply issue him another form to declare his assets, that's all

case close

rexwalters:
No people like the CJ in High places of power must step down or go to prison,whether you forgot or not like:

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/21/nissan-chairman-carlos-ghosn-rearrested-in-japan-reports