The Court of Appeal, Abuja division, on Thursday, approved the proposal by the Federal Government to settle out of court with a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, who is challenging his premature removal from office in 2019.
The three-man appellate court panel, led by Justice Joseph Oyewole, also gave the parties November 19, 2024, to return to the court with their settlement terms for possible adoption as the judgment of the court in the dispute.
Onnoghen, the 21st CJN, was removed from office in 2019 by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), which convicted him of failing to declare his assets as a public official. The Danladi Umar-led CCT also ordered the forfeiture of Onnoghen’s five bank accounts.
Displeased with the CCT verdict, Onnoghen appealed shortly thereafter, but his case was only listed for hearing this year. The matter came up on August 20, 2024, but was further adjourned till Thursday after the Federal Government’s lawyer, Tijani Gazali (SAN), stated that the Federal Government was considering an out-of-court settlement of the case.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, Onnoghen’s lawyer, Dr. Ogwu Onoja, informed the three-member panel of Justices that the two parties were already in discussions about a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Onoja mentioned that the parties had been in discussion up until Wednesday, September 18.
He expressed hope that the discussion would be fruitful and requested a one-month adjournment for the final settlement of the matter.
The Federal Government’s lawyer, Gazali, did not object to Onoja’s submission. Instead, he aligned with Onoja’s request for a one-month adjournment to conclude the amicable resolution of the case.
He said, “My Lords, I wish to humbly confirm the information. It is our position to settle the matter out of court.”
In response, the lead Justice on the matter, Justice Oyewole, directed both parties to file terms of settlement for adoption once agreed upon. He also ordered them to document the terms of settlement and file them in court before the adjourned date for the court to adopt as its judgment in the matter.
Justice Oyewole set November 19 as the return date for the two parties.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had, in 2019, removed Justice Onnoghen as the CJN following a charge levelled against him for false declaration of assets, for which the Code of Conduct Tribunal found him guilty and removed him from office.
