FHC Chief Judge John Tsoho Risks Removal Over ‘Non-Declaration’ Of Assets

John Tsoho, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, may have breached the Code of Conduct law by allegedly failing to fully declare his assets.

According to Premium Times, Tsoho did not list three bank accounts with United Bank for Africa and another account with Access Bank in his asset declaration.

One of the accounts is said to be a dollar account.

Under Nigerian law, public officials are required to declare all their bank accounts, including account balances, as well as other assets such as properties. Failure to do so can attract serious penalties.

If the Code of Conduct Bureau or other anti-corruption agencies take up the matter and any wrongdoing is proven, possible sanctions include removal from office and a 10-year ban from holding public office. Assets linked to false declarations may also be forfeited.

Premium Times said the accounts were not included in the asset declaration form he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on April 29, 2024, and it published the account numbers in its report.

When contacted, John Tsoho did not respond to calls or messages requesting his reaction to the allegations.

In 2019, Walter Onnoghen, who was serving as Chief Justice of Nigeria at the time, was convicted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal for false asset declaration involving bank accounts.

That conviction was later overturned by the Court of Appeal, in what many observers described as a political resolution.

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