The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has had his passport seized even as he has been barred from travelling out of the countr
The immediate past Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, has had his passport seized even as he has been barred from travelling out of the country by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.). The move may be part of a fresh probe into Onnoghen’s affairs. Onnoghen was convicted for not declaring his assets by the Code of Conduct Tribunal in April.
An internal report issued by the Nigeria Immigration Service, stated that Onnoghen, his wife and daughter were attempting to travel to Accra, Ghana when they were accosted by immigration officers. The report stated, “On November 11, 2019, retired Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, was attempting to travel to Accra, Ghana. He was in company with his wife, Nkoyo, and daughter. His passport, with number A50445233, was flagged because Justice Onnoghen’s name was on the watch list. The passport is currently in custody of the NIS.”
The passport seized from Onnoghen was not a diplomatic passport but the ordinary green passport. An immigration officer said the directive to seize Onnoghen’s passport came from the Presidency.
“Justice Onnoghen will have to meet with the Presidency to know why his passport was seized. We are only following instructions,” the officer said.
According to Punch, a top judicial officer revealed Onnoghen’s decision to challenge his conviction by the CCT which might have angered the retired Muhammadu Buhari regime. The Appeal Court had condemned the Buhari regime for the manner in which the trial of Onnoghen was conducted.
A source said, “Even though the NJC (National Judicial Council) recommended that Onnoghen should be paid his benefits in full, I can tell you that he has not been paid anything and all his allowances have stopped.
“His accounts remain frozen. It was some judges who even contributed money for him recently for medicals expenses.
“I was told that his ordeal might be connected with his decision to challenge his conviction at the Court of Appeal which the government of the day might have found embarrassing because the Court of Appeal accused them of depriving Onnoghen of a fair hearing.”
Onnoghen, who was CJN from March 1, 2017 to April 5, 2019, was suspended by Buhari in January, a few weeks to the presidential election, on allegations that he failed to declare five bank accounts in his asset declaration form at the Code of Conduct Bureau. Buhari hinged his decision to suspend Onnoghen on an ex parte order by the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar. Onnoghen’s many attempts to stop his trial were futile.
The CCT ordered Onnoghen’s sacking and barred him from holding public office for 10 years. It also ordered that the sums of money in different currencies found in his Standard Chartered Bank accounts, a total of N46m, be forfeited to the Buhari regime.
A retired CJN is entitled to cash and other perks worth N2.5bn. As part of the package for a retired chief justice, a house will be built for him in Abuja with a nine-digit sum for furnishing — in addition to a severance gratuity that is 300 per cent of his annual basic salary of N3,363,972.50, as well as pension for life.
