Tanko Yakasai faults Justice Onnoghen's conviction by the Code of Conduct Tribunal

Malam Tanko Yakasai

Outspoken elder statesman, Malam Tanko Yakasai, has condemned the conviction of former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) 

According to a statement by the elder statesman, the ex-CJN’s ordeal, prompted by petitioner Dennis Aghanya, was politically motivated.

Comparing the pace at which the Federal Government prosecuted Onnoghen with that of erstwhile Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, the senior citizen accused President Muhammadu Buhari of double standards, insisting that the anti-corruption campaign was targeted at perceived enemies of his administration.

He said: “It will be recalled that the matter started with a petition written to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) by a political gladiator called Dennis Aghanya on January 7, 2019.

“The man was a political associate of President Muhammadu Buhari from their days in the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in which the president was the candidate while Aghanya was national publicity secretary.

“After the collapse of the CPC into what we now know as the All Progressives Congress (APC) under which platform General Muhammadu Buhari became Nigeria’s president, Dennis Aghanya has been in the corridors of power.

“The man wrote his petition on January 7, which he submitted to the CCB, after two days. It took the CCB only two days to investigate all the allegations the man made against Hon. Justice Walter Onnoghen and concluded the investigation, and forwarded the matter to the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

“It took the CCT one day to prepare their charges against Justice Onnoghen. He was asked to appear before the Tribunal in a matter of six days from the first day the petition was written to the CCB.”

The elder statement further alleged that the whole scenario was scripted to achieve a pre-determined end.