Assets decalaration: Onnoghen opens defence with driver as 1st witness

THE suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Walter Onnoghen opened his defence yesterday by calling his driver, Lawal Busari, as his first defence witness.

Justice Onnoghen is being tried on a six count charge in which he is accused of breaching the code of conduct for public officers for allegedly failing to declare his assets.

Led in evidence by lead defence lawyer Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), Busari gave details of how he drove his boss, the defendant, to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Office on July 28, 2010, to obtain the assets declaration form and how he paid N200 for the defendants’ assets declaration on November 3, 2010.

Busari, who said he is 60 years old, described himself as the Chief Driver/Mechanic at the Supreme Court.

When Awomolo moved to tender the receipt issued Busari for the N200, lead prosecution lawyer, Aliyu Umar (SAN), objected to it, being admitted by the tribunal.

Umar doubted the authenticity of the receipt on the grounds that the “revenue number did not appear on it.”

He added that since the witnesses was not the maker of the document, he was not the proper person to tender it.

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Tribunal Chairman Danladi Umar overruled Umar’s objection by admitting the document in evidence, promising that his court would determine the weight to be attached to it.

The defence said by the witness’ testimony, it sought to puncture the prosecution’s charge that the defendant did not declare his assets from 2005 and 2016.

Busari added that while with Onnoghen at the CCB office on July 28, 2010, the suspended CJN also asked him to obtain his own assets declaration form, which he did.

The witness said he submitted his completed form and that of his boss at the CCB office in Asokoro, Abuja on November 4, 2010.

Busari added: “I don’t know the name of the person who collected the forms from me, but I know she was a woman, who was light in complexion.

“She received my form and that of my lordship. I was not given any acknowledgment copy that day. I was asked to come for it when it is ready.”

Busari said he later went back and received the acknowledgment slip for his own submitted form.

Awomolo sought to tender the acknowledgment slip issued to the witness by the CCB, a move the prosecution lawyer objected on the grounds that the document was not relevant to the proceedings.

The tribunal Chairman agreed to Umar’s objection and rejected the document.

While being cross-examined by the prosecution lawyer, Busari admitted being the defendant’s driver since 1999 while he was still a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

Buhari said he drove him to obtain his asset declaration form in 2010, but that he did not go with the defendant to the CCB office when he obtained the form for the assets declaration which the judge did after his appointed to the Supreme Court bench.

About his educational qualification, Busari said he obtained his West African Examination Council’s certificate in 2004.

At a point, the lead prosecution lawyer asked Busari if he was reading from a piece of paper.

The witness admitted the he has a piece of paper in his hand, following which the tribunal chairman directed that the paper be retrieved from the witness for the tribunal’s examination.

An official of the tribunal took the paper from the witness and handed it to the tribunal chairman. After he read through the paper, the prosecution lawyer applied that it be returned to the witness.

When asked who wrote what was contained in the paper, the witness said: “My Lord, I wrote it myself. It is my hand writing and it contained facts about me”.

The defence did not object to the application by the prosecution to tender the paper in evidence, following which the tribunal admitted it in evidence and marked it as Exhibit 7.

Busari told the tribunal that he also has Trade Test Certificates, Grade 1, 2, and 3. He described the defendant as a good man, saying he was attached to the defendant as a driver when he was still a Justice of the Court of Appeal.

The witness added: “He has done so many things I can’t forget. When we went to Jos for tribunal, I wanted to go to the mosque and I told him, he asked me to take his official car, I was shocked.

“Some of the policemen standing by him said your driver? He said yes, let him go, he is going to pray for me and everybody. I took the car and went to mosque and came back.

“The second thing, anytime I am praying and he needs me. If he is informed that I am praying, he will say please don’t disturb him”.

Earlier, upon an application by Awomolo, the tribunal summoned a director at the CCB, Mrs. Theresa Nwafor in relation to the ongoing trial

The CCT chairman issued a subpoena on Mrs. Nwafor to appear before the tribunal tomorrow by 10am.

The tribunal had, on March 29, 2019 rejected Onnoghen’s no-case submission and adjourned till yesterday for him to open his defence.

At the resumption of proceedings yesterday, Awomolo informed the tribunal that the defence intends to call between two and three witnesses.

He said one of the proposed witnesses is Mrs. Nwafor. He proceeded that an order be made for the issuance and service of a subpoena on Mrs. Nwafor, summoning her to appear before the tribunal to testify in the case of the defence.

The lead prosecution lawyer did not object to Awomolo’s application, following which the tribunal chairman granted it and ordered that Mrs. Nwafor appear before the tribunal at its sitting tomorrow.