The Court of Appeal in Abuja has agreed to allow the Federal Government and former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, settle their legal dispute out of court.
This decision comes as both parties are making efforts to resolve the case amicably.
In 2019, former President Muhammadu Buhari removed Justice Onnoghen from his position as CJN while a charge was pending against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. The case centered on allegations of false declaration of assets.
During Thursday’s proceedings, the lead counsel for Justice Onnoghen, Ogwu Onoja, informed the court that discussions were already underway to settle the matter peacefully. He requested a one-month adjournment to finalize the settlement.
“We are already having discussions on a peaceful resolution of the dispute,” Onoja told the court.
The counsel for the Federal Government, Tijani Gazali, confirmed Onoja’s statement and also requested that the case be postponed to allow for a possible agreement.
Justice J. O. Oyewole, who presided over the case, directed both parties to file the terms of settlement once they reach an agreement. He added that the settlement terms must be documented and filed before the next hearing.
“The terms of settlement must be documented and filed before the adjourned date for the court to adopt as its judgment,” Justice Oyewole said.
The court set November 4 as the new date for the parties to return with their settlement agreement.
Justice Onnoghen was prosecuted in 2019 by the Federal Government for not declaring his assets, leading to his removal from office by the CCT. He was also ordered to forfeit the undeclared assets to the Federal Government.
Unlike the last court session on August 20, Justice Onnoghen was not present at Thursday’s hearing. He is seeking to have the CCT’s judgment that removed him from office and ordered the forfeiture of his five bank accounts overturned.
