The Court of Appeal in Abuja has fixed Thursday (January 24) for the commencement of hearing in the appeal filed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen against his planned trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
On Monday, a three-man panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Abdu Aboki, after hearing preliminary submissions from lawyer to the CJN, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) and Emanuel Omonuwa (Director Civil Litigation, Federal Ministry of Justice) for the respondent (the Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), adjourned to January 24.
The court adjourned principally for the hearing of a motion on notice, filed by the CJN, for an injunction restraining the CCT from conducting further proceedings in respect of the charge against the CJN pending the determination of the appeal.
The CJN’s appeal marked: CA/A/44C/2019 is challenging the order made by the CCT on January 14 this year, for the hearing of two pending applications.
One the application is by the prosecution, in which it is seeking to compel the CJN to vacate office pending the conclusion of his trial.
The other application, which the CCT planned to hear today, is that filed by the CJN, challenging the tribunal’s jurisdiction. [Credit: TheNation]