The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday approved moves by the federal government and former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, to reach an out-of-court settlement in a case that arose from the trial and conviction of the former Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) president in 2019.
The meeting was postponed until November 4 for a report to be submitted on the agreement between the two parties.
The court gave approval after both parties in the appeal presented arguments indicating they were actively engaged in talks aimed at amicably resolving the issues.
In January 2019, then President Muhammadu Buhari controversially suspended Onnoghen to keep him out of office while he faced asset declaration charges before the CCT. Buhari based his decision to suspend Onnoghen on an ex parte order by the CCT that was widely condemned.
The court subsequently sentenced Mr Onnoghen in April 2019.
The court ordered his removal, but his departure was ultimately deemed a voluntary retirement based on a resignation letter he submitted to the National Judicial Council (NJC) before the court issued its ruling.
Onnoghen immediately challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, but the appeal remained unsuccessful from the time it was filed in 2019 until last month, when the first hearing was held.
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At the August hearing, legal teams from both the CJN and the federal government indicated that there was ongoing discussion for an out-of-court settlement.
During Thursday's proceedings, Ogwu Onoja, Mr Onnoghen's lead counsel, informed the three-member panel of the Court of Appeal that both sides had met on Wednesday, September 18, in the hope of reaching an agreement on the terms of the settlement.
Mr. Onoja, Senior Counsel for Nigeria (SAN), requested a one-month adjournment to finalize the discussions.
Federal government lawyer Tijani Gazali, also a member of the SAN, agreed: “Gentlemen, I humbly wish to confirm the information. Our position is to resolve the matter out of court.”
Panel Chairman Joseph Oyewole acknowledged the efforts of both sides to reach an agreement and ordered them to submit the formal terms of the settlement before the next hearing.
If submitted, the judge said, the prospective terms would be adopted as the court's ruling.
The court subsequently adjourned until 4 November.
Background story
On January 11, 2019, the federal government charged Mr. Onnoghen with violating the Code of Conduct for Public Officials by allegedly failing to declare his assets between 2005 and 2016. He was also charged with making a false declaration by failing to declare five domiciliary bank accounts as part of his assets in 2016.
Prior to Mr. Onnoghen's appearance on January 23, 2019, the CCT issued a controversial suspension order. The Court of Appeal would later question the integrity of the CCT's ex parte order. The court said
Pursuant to the order, on January 25, 2019, then President Buhari suspended Mr. Onnoghen from office to face trial.
While being prosecuted by the CCT, Mr. Onnoghen was also undergoing disciplinary proceedings at the National Judicial Council (NJC).
Before the CCT trial ended, Mr. Onnoghen submitted his voluntary withdrawal letter.
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On 18 April 2019, the court convicted him and, as punishment, ordered his dismissal, disqualification from holding public office for 10 years and the confiscation of undeclared assets.
The NJC did not make its report public, but on 6 October 2019 it issued a statement announcing that the President had accepted Mr Onnoghen’s voluntary retirement.
In March 2021, Onnoghen spoke publicly about the circumstances that led to his departure from office. He denied some allegations and speculations that he claimed motivated President Buhari’s administration to act against him.
For example, he denied ever having met former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who was Buhari's main rival in the 2019 presidential election.
He also criticised accusations that as head of the Supreme Court he was releasing corruption suspects.
“Before my suspension, I had not been charged with anything. There were rumours that I had met Atiku in Dubai.
“As I speak here today, I have never met Atiku personally in my life,” Onnoghen said.
Appeal against conviction
In his appeal against his conviction, Onnoghen challenged the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to try him and accused the court's president, Danladi Umar, of bias.
He argued that the refusal of CCT Chairman Danladi Umar to recuse himself from the case compromised the impartiality of the proceedings.
Mr Onnoghen challenged the legality of the asset seizure, claiming that the assets had been legally acquired.
He argued that the court failed to provide a fair hearing and dismissed evidence that could have exonerated him.
The appeal highlights an inequality in the court's treatment of similar cases.
For example, in the case of another Supreme Court judge, Sylvester Ngwuta, the court had previously stayed proceedings based on a Court of Appeal decision that only the National Judicial Council (NJC) could impeach a sitting judicial officer.
He said that despite this, Mr Umar's court overturned this precedent in his case.
Mr Onnoghen argued that the court's decision to convict him and order the confiscation of his assets was legally flawed and a violation of justice.
He urged the court to rule that the charges against him were academic.
The former CJN also urged the appeals court to overturn his conviction and the consequent orders, including the ban on holding public office for 10 years and the order for the confiscation of his assets.