Back Print this page
Legalbrief   |   your legal news hub Saturday 27 April 2024

Disgraced Nigerian CJ quits

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the retirement letter of Nigeria's Chief Justice Walter Onnoghen following his graft conviction in April. BBC News reports that he was convicted of falsely declaring his assets after failing to reveal the funds he held in foreign bank accounts. The law requires senior civil servants and government officials to declare their assets before taking office as a way to monitor wrongdoing. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, Onnoghen was barred from holding office for 10 years after an ethics tribunal found him guilty of six counts of false declaration of assets. The amount was not disclosed. Onnoghen had unsuccessfully attempted to stop the tribunal from trying him. The conviction is unprecedented as Onnoghen was the first serving Chief Justice to be put on trial and found guilty. He has not commented on his conviction or retirement.