Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) on Wednesday explained why Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen’s assets non-declaration charge cannot first be determined by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

In a statement, the eminent professor of law, citing constitutional provisions, argued that not every offence committed by a judicial officer must first be brought before the NJC.

He added: “By the very logic of the powers of the NJC, cases arising out of a breach of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act and the Code of Conduct provision in the Constitution cannot come before the NJC.

“If the NJC first decides the matter before the defendant is arraigned in court or at the Tribunal, what happens if the NJC finds the defendant liable and removes him from office as a Judge? In that case, he ceases to be a Judicial Officer as well as a Public Officer.

“Can he, therefore, be tried as a public officer before the Code of Conduct Tribunal? The answer is no, because he is no longer a public officer.

“The extant provisions of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act would be rendered nugatory by a prior NJC involvement.”

The PACAC chairman faulted arguments that the prosecution ought to comply with the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Nganjiwa vs. F.R.N.

He said: “It should be noted first that this judgment contradicts the clear provisions of the Code of Conduct as established in the Constitution which gives the Code of Conduct Tribunal jurisdiction over all public officers, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria. (See 5th Schedule, Part One, of the 1999 Constitution).

“Moreover, the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa’s case was directing its judgment to a judicial officer committing an offence in the process of carrying out his duties as a judge in a court namely: demanding bribe from a party to the case before him.

“Therefore, the ratio decidendi in this case is much narrower in scope than is being touted by our all mighty Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). Filling an Assets Declaration Form is totally outside the ambit of a judicial officer’s work. It applies to all public officers.

“If one may ask – should a drunken judge behind a car steering wheel kill an innocent pedestrian, will the offence be taken before the NJC, before the police can act on the crime?

“Indeed, inspite of its defects, the Court of Appeal judgment in the Nganjiwa’s case expressly limited reference to the NJC only to cases of a judicial officers’ misconduct in court whilst exercising his authority as judge in case before him in court.

“According to the court: ‘It must be expressly stated that if a Judicial officer commits theft, fraud, murder or manslaughter, arson and the likes, which are crimes committed outside the scope of performance of his official functions, he may be arrested, interrogated and prosecuted accordingly by the State directly without recourse to the NJC. These classes of criminal act are not envisaged and captured by the provisions of paragraph 21, Part One of the Third Schedule.’

“This demonstrates the hollowness and invalidity of the argument that every offence committed by a judicial officer must first be brought before the NJC, before the law enforcement agencies can entertain it.”

Besides, Sagay believes that the NJC cannot be expected to be fair in Chief Justice Onnoghen’s case.

“Almost all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria have argued that even in a case involving the breach of the Code of Conduct, for which the law has already made express provisions, the matter shall be taken to the NJC rather than to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“They can’t be serious. They must obviously be speaking tongue in cheek. Even a baby, three months old, must realise that no one can get justice against the CJN at the NJC.

“The CJN is not only the Chairman of the NJC, he is also the appointor of 20 out of the NJC’s 23 members. The CJN is the NJC.

“Only a grossly ignorant man or an extremely mischievous one could seriously suggest that a matter involving the CJN should be brought before the NJC for adjudication.

“Therefore, the whole idea of taking the present case to the NJC is a nonstarter, for that would make the CJN the Chief Judge of his own case – a clear violation, not only of the Constitution, but also of a long standing common law principle coming all the way from MAGNA CARTER in the year 1215,” the PACAC chairman said.

Sagay was of the view that the substance of the charge against Chief Justice Onnoghen “is deliberately being abandoned by the SANs and some other lawyers.”

“Why is Nigeria such a Theatre of the Absurd? Today, we are only talking about preliminary objections, interim injunctions, challenge of jurisdiction, wrong procedure, etc., etc.

“Nobody is talking about the substantive issue any longer. That is now lost in the sands of time.

“Did he do it? Did he not do it? The questions we should all be asking are contained in the front page of The Nation Newspaper of Tuesday 15th January, 2019: Did the CJN fail to submit a written declaration of all his assets and liabilities within prescribed period of three months after being sworn it?

“Did he omit to declare a domiciliary (US dollar) account No. 870001062650 maintained with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited? Did he falsely omit to declare a domiciliary (Euro) account No. 93001062686 maintained with the bank?


“Did he falsely omit to declare an e-Saver Savings (naira) account No. 5001062963 maintained with the bank? Did he falsely fail to declare naira Account 010001062667?”

Sagay advised Nigerians not be distracted by what he called a vicious and fraudulent campaign intended to sacrifice the substance and justice of the case on the altar of technicalities, adding that the truth must not be the first casualty in the matter.


http://thenationonlineng.net/sagay-njc-cant-consider-onnoghens-case/

isoright

I stopped taking this man serious since he started working for Buhari. You can't work for any thief in Nigeria - hiding under the name of a Politician and defense of Immunity and have sense.

Funny worr drew me to him was his name. Even though I dont know the meaning, it was catchy.

Nigeria is going. Perdition is even an understatement.

2009 vs 2019... APC #10yearsChallenge

Product of Grace
Small boy with big God

Did I Change?

uselessman

Increased fuel price from 87 to 145 naira per litre
Crashed naira value from 180naira per dollar to 365 naira per dollar
Made Nigeria the capital poverty of the world
Supervised the greatest job loss in the history of global democracy
Led and supported the killing of minority’s middle belt by Fulani herdsmen
Threatened citizens to give up their lands for ranches or get killed by herdsmen
Led the highest looting of the nations treasury among the cabal
Continues to shield criminals like maina, ganduje etc
Nepotism and tribalism has become the order of the day
Divided Nigeria more than any other government
This is the same government that certain people who call themselves humans are supporting for re-election
Obviously Nigerians have not suffered enough. The day Nigerians get to ground zero is the day they will fight for their lives

Like if you didn't bother to read the hogwash above

Indeed, inspite of its defects, the Court of Appeal judgment in the Nganjiwa’s case expressly limited reference to the NJC only to cases of a judicial officers’ misconduct in court whilst exercising his authority as judge in case before him in court.

“According to the court: ‘It must be expressly stated that if a Judicial officer commits theft, fraud, murder or manslaughter, arson and the likes, which are crimes committed outside the scope of performance of his official functions, he may be arrested, interrogated and prosecuted accordingly by the State directly without recourse to the NJC. These classes of criminal act are not envisaged and captured by the provisions of paragraph 21, Part One of the Third Schedule.’

“This demonstrates the hollowness and invalidity of the argument that every offence committed by a judicial officer must first be brought before the NJC, before the law enforcement agencies can entertain it.”



In other words, the Chief Justice can be brought before the CCB since the crime he is accused of (having undeclared assets) was committed outside the scope of performance of his official conduct.

So, the Chief Justice's trial in the Code of Conduct Bureau is IN ORDER.


Personally speaking, I think that there should be no trial...too close to the election. I also think there is politics involved here. But...the CJN got himself into this mess by not declaring his assets. Sorry guys...but political persecution or no...high time we stopped excusing corruption.

The Judas of Itsekiri land has spoken...!

Like his fellow crooks of Ameachi, oshomole, keyamo, akpabio and omo-agege........ Una go soon hear am ..... Mark dis!

When de gbedu don dey enta bodi.....!

Source=the Nation newspaper=tinubu=Buhari Boy

Lol. Na you be NJC abi?

Same man that said Adeosun should get away with forgery..

They have started

This is not a matter of political party (not as if any of them gives a f'ck about us);

If this man is guilty, he should be tried...

I agree with the NJC thing being crap...The accussed_appointed virtually all of them that will try him...Nigerian system, appointing them means they are on good terms, and he's even a senior to them...

You can not be a judge in your own case!!

kahal29:
Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) Chairman Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) on Wednesday explained why Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen’s assets non-declaration charge cannot first be determined by the National Judicial Council (NJC).

In a statement, the eminent professor of law, citing constitutional provisions, argued that not every offence committed by a judicial officer must first be brought before the NJC.

He added: “By the very logic of the powers of the NJC, cases arising out of a breach of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act and the Code of Conduct provision in the Constitution cannot come before the NJC.

“If the NJC first decides the matter before the defendant is arraigned in court or at the Tribunal, what happens if the NJC finds the defendant liable and removes him from office as a Judge? In that case, he ceases to be a Judicial Officer as well as a Public Officer.

“Can he, therefore, be tried as a public officer before the Code of Conduct Tribunal? The answer is no, because he is no longer a public officer.

“The extant provisions of the Constitution and the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act would be rendered nugatory by a prior NJC involvement.”

The PACAC chairman faulted arguments that the prosecution ought to comply with the Court of Appeal decision in the case of Nganjiwa vs. F.R.N.

He said: “It should be noted first that this judgment contradicts the clear provisions of the Code of Conduct as established in the Constitution which gives the Code of Conduct Tribunal jurisdiction over all public officers, including the Chief Justice of Nigeria. (See 5th Schedule, Part One, of the 1999 Constitution).

“Moreover, the Court of Appeal in Nganjiwa’s case was directing its judgment to a judicial officer committing an offence in the process of carrying out his duties as a judge in a court namely: demanding bribe from a party to the case before him.

“Therefore, the ratio decidendi in this case is much narrower in scope than is being touted by our all mighty Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs). Filling an Assets Declaration Form is totally outside the ambit of a judicial officer’s work. It applies to all public officers.

“If one may ask – should a drunken judge behind a car steering wheel kill an innocent pedestrian, will the offence be taken before the NJC, before the police can act on the crime?

“Indeed, inspite of its defects, the Court of Appeal judgment in the Nganjiwa’s case expressly limited reference to the NJC only to cases of a judicial officers’ misconduct in court whilst exercising his authority as judge in case before him in court.

“According to the court: ‘It must be expressly stated that if a Judicial officer commits theft, fraud, murder or manslaughter, arson and the likes, which are crimes committed outside the scope of performance of his official functions, he may be arrested, interrogated and prosecuted accordingly by the State directly without recourse to the NJC. These classes of criminal act are not envisaged and captured by the provisions of paragraph 21, Part One of the Third Schedule.’

“This demonstrates the hollowness and invalidity of the argument that every offence committed by a judicial officer must first be brought before the NJC, before the law enforcement agencies can entertain it.”

Besides, Sagay believes that the NJC cannot be expected to be fair in Chief Justice Onnoghen’s case.

“Almost all the Senior Advocates of Nigeria have argued that even in a case involving the breach of the Code of Conduct, for which the law has already made express provisions, the matter shall be taken to the NJC rather than to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“They can’t be serious. They must obviously be speaking tongue in cheek. Even a baby, three months old, must realise that no one can get justice against the CJN at the NJC.

“The CJN is not only the Chairman of the NJC, he is also the appointor of 20 out of the NJC’s 23 members. The CJN is the NJC.

“Only a grossly ignorant man or an extremely mischievous one could seriously suggest that a matter involving the CJN should be brought before the NJC for adjudication.

“Therefore, the whole idea of taking the present case to the NJC is a nonstarter, for that would make the CJN the Chief Judge of his own case – a clear violation, not only of the Constitution, but also of a long standing common law principle coming all the way from MAGNA CARTER in the year 1215,” the PACAC chairman said.

Sagay was of the view that the substance of the charge against Chief Justice Onnoghen “is deliberately being abandoned by the SANs and some other lawyers.”

“Why is Nigeria such a Theatre of the Absurd? Today, we are only talking about preliminary objections, interim injunctions, challenge of jurisdiction, wrong procedure, etc., etc.

“Nobody is talking about the substantive issue any longer. That is now lost in the sands of time.

“Did he do it? Did he not do it? The questions we should all be asking are contained in the front page of The Nation Newspaper of Tuesday 15th January, 2019: Did the CJN fail to submit a written declaration of all his assets and liabilities within prescribed period of three months after being sworn it?

“Did he omit to declare a domiciliary (US dollar) account No. 870001062650 maintained with Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited? Did he falsely omit to declare a domiciliary (Euro) account No. 93001062686 maintained with the bank?


“Did he falsely omit to declare an e-Saver Savings (naira) account No. 5001062963 maintained with the bank? Did he falsely fail to declare naira Account 010001062667?”

Sagay advised Nigerians not be distracted by what he called a vicious and fraudulent campaign intended to sacrifice the substance and justice of the case on the altar of technicalities, adding that the truth must not be the first casualty in the matter.


http://thenationonlineng.net/sagay-njc-cant-consider-onnoghens-case/

This is a very detailed explanation and clarification.

It is indeed clear that due process has been followed in the trial of the CJN at the CCT.

hmmm the aim is already achieved; to scare the CJN to his pants.

Prof Sagay is making sense here!

Now this if funny, it's not as if Nigerians are happy that the CJN did wrong and should not be punished, but because APC has set a very bad precedence. I mean the precedence is so bad that people don't mind to support the CJN. When Saraki was tried at CCT, he didn't leave his position. Babachir Lawal went wrong, he was just sacked but no prosecution, Adeosun forged certificate, she wasn't even sacked, she resigned herself after several days and was escorted out outside the country as if forgery is legal. Shittu, minister for communication himself confessed that he didn't serve, so he shouldn't even be a minister, yet, he is still a minister after several days. The court asked for the release of people like Dasuki, till tomorrow, d man no see light. The law says that the NJC must first be tried by his own caucus and it is written in the law that way. Why is Sagay adding sentiments. He ought to first find a way to change the law that was written before it would be followed. APC's failure is so resounding that every sane mind would know that they have nothing to offer Nigeria. Buhari should first obey the judgements by lawyers to release the people in court before the lawyers listen to him, when he was being asked for his own certificate, why did he not first resign, rather than employ more than 50 lawyers to defend he has an ordinary olevel.....

Are you tired of your current status, you feel you need encouragement, success strategies, business and academic moves, or want to learn from the likes of Bill Gates, Ben Carson, Albert Einstein and so on, then visit www.motivate.com.ng

I agree with Prof Itse Sagay's explanation. On this then, let the CJN do the needful. I will equally move that the CCB should publish in a public library for citizens to access freely, all assets declared by public officials so that we can know its correctness or otherwise.
I am sure, more than 98% of these asset declarations are false. Hence, the CJN case is pure political attack.
No public officials in Nigeria have integrity on a macro view.

Sagay's position is entirely illogical and untrue.

If NJC finds him guilty, NJC will recommend that he be removed as CJN.

Removal as CJN is entirely different from being sacked from public service as a judge...

Onnoghen can then be tried after NJC's recommendation

amalab30:
I stopped taking this man serious since he started working for Buhari. You can't work for any thief in Nigeria - hiding under the name of a Politician and defense of Immunity and have sense.

Funny worr drew me to him was his name. Even though I dont know the meaning, it was catchy.

Nigeria is going. Perdition is even an understatement.

But did you read his comments? I mean his submission as contained in the story?

funshybam:
Sagay's position is entirely illogical and untrue.

If NJC finds him guilty, NJC will recommend that he be removed as CJN.

Removal as CJN is entirely different from being sacked from public service as a judge...

Onnoghen can then be tried after NJC's recommendation

Are you serious? You can't be serious!

I am not happy with people opposed to the CJN trial. They are just confused. Why is he afraid to face trial if he is innocent. Nobody is above the law. He has no immunity and should prove his innocence.
Let us not make mistake in this country. There is a strong corruption in the judiciary. This is the reason why we are not making any headway in the fight against corruption. Mistake over this will affect this country for a long time.
People are saying NJC. NJC my foot. How can a case against the head of NJC be taken to the same NJC where he appoints almost all the members of the so called group.
The CJN should have known better. He should be an authority in legal matters. Let us keep sentiment aside.

Prof Sagay made logical sense.
His legal opinion made alot of sense

Sagay was of the view that the substance of the charge against Chief Justice Onnoghen “is deliberately being abandoned by the SANs and some other lawyers.”

“Why is Nigeria such a Theatre of the Absurd? Today, we are only talking about preliminary objections, interim injunctions, challenge of jurisdiction, wrong procedure, etc., etc.

“Nobody is talking about the substantive issue any longer. That is now lost in the sands of time.


http://thenationonlineng.net/sagay-njc-cant-consider-onnoghens-case/
[/quote]



This section of the write up caught my attention!

A time will come, when no Nigerian lawyer will be found worthy of prosecuting a decent case at the international level if some of them continue to thread through this "unprofessional" path, all in the name of making money for themselves!

#Myopinion

Wq