FACT CHECK: Did Justice Onnoghen Set Free Alleged Corrupt Persons As Claimed By President Buhari?

“It is no secret that this government is
dissatisfied with the alarming rate in which the Supreme Court of
Nigeria under the oversight of Justice Walter Onnoghen has serially
set free, persons accused of the most dire acts of corruption,
often on mere technicalities, and after quite a number of them have
been convicted by the trial and appellate
courts”.

These are the exact words of President Muhammadu Buhari on
Friday, January 25when he suspended Justice Walter Onnoghen as the
Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and inaugurated Justice Tanko
Mohammed in acting capacity.

President Buhari accused the Supreme Court of Nigeria under the
oversight of Justice Onnoghen of serially setting free persons
accused of acts of corruption, often on mere technicalities.

The president added that “since there is nothing the executive
arm can do after the apex court of the land has spoken on any
matter, several of these individuals walk free among us today,
enjoying what are clearly the proceeds of the corruption which for
so long has defeated the efforts of this nation to develop and
prosper”.

The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN), is the highest court in
Nigeria. The Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Nigeria and
such number of justices not more than 21, appointed by the
President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council,
(NJC) and subject to confirmation by the Senate. Justices of the
Supreme Court must be qualified to practice law in Nigeria, and
must have been so qualified for a period not less than fifteen
years.

But checks by the Our reporter on the judgments delivered by the
Supreme Court since the inauguration of Justice Onnoghen on March
9, 2017, showed that the Supreme Court delivered only one major
corruption case, that of Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki,
in his favour.

The Supreme Court on July 6, 2018, discharged and acquitted
Saraki on the three remaining counts of alleged false asset
declaration after the cross appeal by himself and the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) challenging the decision of the
Court of Appeal.

The appellate court in December 2017 upheld the verdict of the
Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) discharging Saraki of false asset
declaration by the EFCC in 15 of the 18-count charges.

The five-member panel of justices of the apex court led by
Justice Dattijo Muhammad held that the evidence led by the
prosecution in the trial was based on hearsay, and did not have
direct link to Saraki.

The Supreme Court delivered a total of 297 judgments in the
2017/2018 legal year. Many of the judgements were on civil appeals
and political cases.

There is also no record that the Supreme Court under Justice
Onnoghen set free persons accused of acts of corruption who were
earlier convicted by the trial and appellate courts.