Utomi, SERAP, lawyers preach integrity as Onnoghen is convicted

The need for integrity in the judiciary and other sectors of public life dominated discourse yesterday as the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) found ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen guilty of concealing assets, report Adebisi Onanuga, Joseph Jibueze.

Integrity among public

officials important,

say Utomi, lawyers

A Professor of Political Economics, Pat Utomi, has called for integrity among public officers in the interest of nation-building and unity.

He reacted to yesterday’s conviction of ex-Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, of breach of Code of Conduct for public officers.

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) chaired by Danladi Umar convicted Onnoghen, 68, and ordered his immediate removal as the CJN.

The CCT stripped him of all offices he occupied, such as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council and  Chairman of the Federal Judicial Service Commission.

The tribunal also ordered the forfeiture of money in five accounts which Onnoghen failed to declare as part of his assets.

The tribunal equally ordered that he should not hold any public office for 10 years.

In an interview with NAN, Utomi said: “The times suggest that the point that we have always made about the importance of integrity is critical for nation building and individual sense of unity.”

Mr Wale Ogunade, a lawyer and the President of Voters Awareness Initiative (VAI), said that Onnoghen’s conviction showed that no one should be above the law.

He urged that corruption investigations should not be politicised.

He said: “For such a step to be taken against a high ranking official, particularly against the head of the judiciary, then there is smoke behind the fire, I knew something was wrong and, indeed, he was found guilty.

“I was convinced that he was guilty when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) wrote a petition to the National Judicial Council (NJC) which recommended his resignation and so on.

REad also: The CJN Walter Onnoghen phenomenon: A disaster of monumental proportions

“I was one of those who suggested, when he started, that he should eat the humble pie and resign as an honourable man but unfortunately he allowed himself to be misled by his kinsmen who believed that it was politics.

“Law and politics are like water and oil, there is no way you can mix the two, the law will always stand and politics will fall like what you have seen.

“It also shows that there is no sacred cow; those who think they are above the law now know they are under the law, it does not matter that you are the chief law officer.”

SERAP urges CCB to release details of assets of ex-presidents, ex-governors

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has requested the Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) Dr Muhammed Isah, to provide information on specific details of asset declarations submitted to the bureau by successive presidents and state governors since the return of democracy in 1999.

SERAP is seeking information on: “details of asset declarations by successive presidents and state governors between 1999 and 2019, including details of declarations made immediately after taking offices and thereafter, and for those who have left public offices, at the end of their term of office. Information is also sought on the number of asset declarations so far verified by the CCB and the number of those declarations found to be false and deemed to be in breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, by the Bureau.”

It urged the CCB to disclose, by publishing on a dedicated website, details of asset declarations submitted by presidents and state governors since the return of democracy in 1999; details on the number of asset declarations so far verified by the CCB and the number of those declarations found to be false and deemed to be a breach of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers by the Bureau.