TheCable

Walter Onnoghen, suspended chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), has opened his defence at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Onnoghen opened his defence on Monday after the tribunal dismissed his no-case submission.

Danladi Umar, CCT chairman, said the allegations against the justice are weighty and warrant that he opens his defence.

The suspended chief justice is standing trial on a six-count charge bordering on false asset declaration.

At the tribunal, Adeboyega Awomolo, counsel to Onnoghen, called on one Lawal Olanrewaju, a driver to the embattled justice, to the witness box to testify.

Olanrewaju said he accompanied Onnoghen to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on July 28, 2010 to collect asset declaration forms.

“After they have given him the form, he said ‘Alhaji, are you not going to collect your own?’. I collected and filled my own too. On 3rd November 2010, he gave me N200 for the payment of asset declaration form,” he said.

“After payment, we submitted the forms at the CCB in Asokoro. I don’t know the woman who received it but she is fair in complexion. She received my own and my lordship’s own. She said we should go and come back for acknowledgement.”

The acknowledgement receipt was admitted as evidence in the tribunal.

Aliu Umar, counsel to the federal government, had raised an objection but the tribunal accepted after Awomolo argued that the receipt is “primary evidence.”

Before Olanrewaju took the witness box, the defence counsel asked the court to summon one Theresa Nwafor, a director in the CCB.

The tribunal granted the request of Awomolo and adjourned the matter till Wednesday