Onnoghen closes defence at CCT — after calling one witness

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

Onnoghen was ordered to open his defence after the tribunal dismissed his no-case submission.

Danladi Umar, CCT chairman, said the allegations against Onnoghen were weighty and he needed to open his defence.

On Monday, the defence called on Lawal Olanrewaju, a driver of the suspended CJN, who said he submitted asset declaration forms on behalf of Onnoghen.

An acknowledgement receipt to that effect was tendered at the tribunal.

At the tribunal on Wednesday, Chris Uche, counsel to Onnoghen, announced that they had closed their case in the absence of other witnesses.

The lawyer said that they were confident of the no-case submission that they filed earlier.

“After a deep review and consideration of the evidence before the court, the defence has come to conclusion to close our case,” Uche said.

“We are applying to file our final addresses.”

The tribunal had granted defendant’s request to summon an official of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) who did not show up.

Although, Uche had asked the court for 14 days to enable them write their final address, the CCT chairman granted three.

The chairman also gave the prosecution three days to reply the address of the defence.

The matter was adjourned till April 15.