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Group calls for suspension of CCT chairman over corruption charges

By Silver Nwokoro
06 February 2018   |   4:21 am
Access to Justice (A2J) has called for the suspension of the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, pending the determination and outcome of criminal allegations against him.

The Chairman of Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar

Access to Justice (A2J) has called for the suspension of the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, pending the determination and outcome of criminal allegations against him.

The group said Umar has several allegations of corruption and financial malpractices against him, insisting that the allegations were from within and outside the Tribunal.

Efforts by whistle-blowers to draw the attention of anti-corruption agencies to happenings within the CCT were largely ignored, while those who drew public attention to his corrupt tendencies were forced out of the CCT.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had also filed a two-count charge of corruption against Umar.

The case, filed at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, accused Umar of asking for and receiving bribes while discharging his official duties.

The EFCC, in the first count, accused Umar of asking for N10 million from one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, sometime in 2012 in order to favour him (Taiwo) in a case preferred against him.

He was also charged with receiving N1.8 million from Taiwo, as the money was allegedly paid through one of Umar’s personal assistants, Gambo Abdullahi.

The offences are contrary to Section 12(1) subsection (a) & (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act, 2003.

In a statement by the group’s director, Joseph Otteh, the group said it was no longer tenable for Umar to continue in office as the chairman of the tribunal.

“He has brought the CCT nothing but public ridicule and embarrassment, which has done incalculable harm to the image of the tribunal and the entire judiciary in the country.

“Failure of the Federal Government to appoint a third member of the CCT to fill a position that has been vacant for many years undermines the work of the CCT and the corruption fight,” the statement reads in part.

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