The Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, Thursday approved the prayer of the
Defence counsel, Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, to the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen to address the tribunal on a no-case submission.
It also directed the tribunal registrar to make available a record of proceedings to Awomolo to enable him prepare his wrtten address.
Awomolo, according to the directive of the chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Umar would receive the recorded proceedings next Monday.
He was also billed to make ready copies of his written address to the prosecution counsel and tribunal on Wednesday for him to subsequently address the tribunal subject to adoption of same on next week Friday.
This application came after the PW3, Ifeoma Olagbue, the standard chartered bank account officer to Onnoghen gave her evidence today.
Under cross examination by Awomolo, PW3 admitted that the five accounts opened by Onnoghen with the bank in foreign currencies of Euro, sterling pounds and dollars were all domiciliary accounts managed here in Abuja and not overseas as was alleged.
she also admitted that it was her bank that encouraged Onnoghen to invest in other profit yielding ventures and that interest on the accounts were regularly credited to his accounts.
Further, PW3 admitted that from the transfers made by Onnoghen, none was for the purchase of luxury cars.
When grilled by the prosecution counsel, Aliyu Umar, PW3 even explained that when transfers are done, there are usually a column where the purposes are stated and, added from the transfers in Onnoghen’s debit, “I see that they are for investment purposes”.
Also, PW3 admitted that Onnoghen took a facility (loan) of £500,000 as at January 2019 and that his security for the loan are his investment in bonds. She affirmed that the defendant contrary to allegations doesn’t have one million dollars in his accounts.
However, the tribunal chairman adjourned the case to March 29 and further threatened to jail any journalist found culpable of misrepresentation of proceedings.
He said, “If any journalist here or anybody make publication that is inconsistent with the proceedings, I will send him to prison where he will stay until when I will retire at 70 years.
” There he will be languishing. You will see the other side of my coin.”
