The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has ordered the Code of Conduct Tribunal, to stay further proceedings on the six count charge the Federal Government preferred against the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen.
The Appellate court ordered the Mr. Danladi Umar’s led tribunal to temporarily hands-off the matter till January thirtieth, a date it fixed to deliver ruling on an appeal the embattled Chief Justice of Nigeria lodged before it.
A three-man panel of Justices of the Appellate court led by Justice Abdul Aboki, gave the order after it listened to counsel to the Chief Justice of Nigeria and that of Federal Government, regarding what transpired at the tribunal last Tuesday.
When the matter was called up, counsel to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, who led eighteen other Senior Advocates of Nigeria, traced the history of the case for the Appellate court panel.
He told the Appellate court that Federal Government had on January eleventh, through the Code of Conduct Bureau, commenced what it termed as investigation of information contained in the assets declaration forms that were submitted by the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
He urged the court to suspend further action on his trial, pending the determination of his appeal.
Chief Olanipekun told the appellate court that regardless the fourseparate Court injunctions that stopped further action on the matter pending determination of legal issues surrounding both the competence of the charge and jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain same, the Code of Conduct Tribunal Chairman, in a ruling last Tuesday, insisted on proceeding with the trial.
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