National Assembly Receives Petitions Against CCT Chairman

 The National Assembly set to probe Justice Danladi Umar, the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over allegations of misappropriation of N10 million public funds.

Leadership reports that the leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives have received petitions against Umar.
In one of the petitions, Emmanuel Onwubiko, the national coordinator of Human Rights Writers Association (HURIWA), noted that those people who saddled with the role of ensuring that corrupt people are brought to book should not be involved in corrupt practices themselves.
Onwubiko revealed that Mohammed Adoke, a former attorney-general of the federation, had already given a written directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to prosecute the accused and the EFCC had prepared a charge sheet against the CCT chairman and his personal assistant, Ali Gambo Abdullahi.

The leader of the group also alleged a conspiracy between the EFCC and CCT to remove the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, from office.

“We write to bring to your attention for further investigation and necessary action a report of likely conspiracy by the EFCC, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and the Code of Conduct Tribunal to remove the Senate president from office using the instrumentality of their public offices to achieve their aims.
“The Senate recently launched an investigation against the activities of the chairman of the EFCC. The EFCC, as a counter-attack, initiated and launched the prosecution of the Senate president as a retaliatory measure using the offices of the attorney general of the federation and a highly compromised Code of Conduct Tribunal to achieve their aim of removing the Senate president from office.

“The EFCC is aware that a compromised Code of Conduct Tribunal will always do its bidding because it had already concluded investigation into a N10 million bribery allegation against the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, and his personal assistant, Mr. Ali Gambo Abdullahi,” the petition read in part.

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Appealing to both chambers of the National Assembly, Onwubiko said that they should note that the so-called investigative report in Saraki’s trial at the CCT was probably prepared by the EFCC, adding that the prosecutor, Rotimi Jacobs, is a well-known counsel of the commission.
“The Senate and the House of Representatives should further note that the chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal is still standing on EFCC administrative bail of the sum of N5 million.
“The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in collaboration with their counterpart in the House of Representatives, has the constitutional powers to recommend to Mr. President to remove any person found culpable in the above abuse of office for inability to discharge the functions of that office on ground of misconduct or for contravention of the laws,” the petition further read.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has received another petition against the CCT chairman from a non-governmental organisation, Anti-Corruption Network.

Rima Shawulu Kwewum (PDP, Taraba) presented a petition on behalf of the group at plenary on Tuesday, November 10.
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According to Kwewum, the ex-attorney-general of the federation had recommended the arrest and prosecution of two persons over alleged corruption.
He noted that in compliance with the recommendations of the then attorney-general, Ali Gambo Abdullahi was arrested and prosecuted, while Justice Danladi Umar was not arrested for no given reason.

“The petitioner is now seeking the House to wade into the matter with a view to seeing that the second person, Mr Umar, is immediately arrested and made to face the law in compliance with the recommendations of the former attorney-general of the federation and minister of justice,” he said.
Presiding over the plenary session, Speaker Yakubu Dogara directed that the petition be laid before the House of Representatives and referred it to the House Standing Committee on Public Petitions for further legislative action.