The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen has finally responded to allegations of non-declaration of assets preferred against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB). The CCB, according to documents obtained by Vigil360, had confronted Justice Onnoghen with purported evidence of false assets declaration and huge payments of foreign currencies by him into accounts,
which he allegedly did not declare at the time he filled his assets declaration forms with the Bureau.
During the interrogation, which sources said, ended at 1:45 pm, the CCB operatives were said to have confronted the Chief Justice on why he opened and operated sundry domiciliary and local accounts, most of which he allegedly did not declare in his forms, thereby violating the code of conduct of public officers.
The CJN who responded in writing attributed the development to forgetfulness.
“My asset declaration form numbers SCN 00014 and SCN 00005 were declared on the same day, 14/12/2016 because I forgot to make a declaration of my assets after the expiration of my 2005 declaration in 2009. Following my appointment as acting CJN in November 2016, the need to declare my assets anew made me to realize the mistake.
“I then did the declaration to cover the period in default. I did not include my standard charted bank account in SCN 000014 because I believed they were not opened.
“I did not make a fresh declaration of the asset after my substantive appointment as CJN because I was under the impression that my SCN 000015 was to cover that period of four years which includes my term as CJN.”
