By Immigration Service Bars Former CJN, Onnoghen And Family At Airport, Seizes Travel Passport
The immediate Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen and his family members were recently accosted by officials of the Immigration Service and denied from leaving the country.
BlackBox Nigeria gathered that the former Supreme Court Judge passport number has been enlisted in the watch list issued to the Immigration Service by the Presidency.
According to an internal report of the NIS and currently making rounds in the media, Onnoghen was in company of his wife and daughter on their way to Accra, Ghana when they were approached by the Immigration officers.
Part of the statement reads, “On November 11, 2019, retired Honourable Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, was attempting to travel to Accra, Ghana. He was in company with his wife, Nkoyo, and daughter.
“His passport was flagged because Justice Onnoghen’s name was on the watch list. The passport is currently in custody of the NIS.”
An Immigration officer who prefers anonymity disclosed to the press that the travel document seized from retired Justice Onnoghen was not his diplomatic passport but the ordinary international passport.
The immigration officer further disclosed that the directive to seize Onnoghen’s passport came from the Presidency.
“Justice Onnoghen will have to go to the Presidency to know why his denied from leaving the country as the instructions were from above,” the officer added.
Recall that in a judgement delivered by 3-man bench led by Justice Stephen Adah unanimously ruled that the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s ex parted order breached the former CJN-s right to fair hearing.
In his judgement, Justice Adah stated that the proceedings of the CCT should not have been conducted in a rather “shady or clandestine manoeuvre” going by the way the order was obtained by the prosecution counsel.
