Ade Adesomoju, Abuja
An Abuja-based non-governmental organisation, Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, has filed a suit seeking the removal of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, following the bribery charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The group filed the suit on Friday before the Federal High Court in Abuja through its lawyer, Mr. Okere Nnamdi.
The suit seeks an order of mandamus compelling President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to perform their constitutional duties by commencing the process of removing the CCT chairman.
The Code of Conduct Tribunal; Danladi Umar; President Buhari; the Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Assembly are joined in the suit as the first to the fifth respondents, respectively.
The EFCC had on February 2, 2018, through a private lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo (SAN), filed bribery charges against the CCT chairman before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
In the case marked, CR/109/18, the EFCC accused Umar of demanding N10m as favour from a defendant standing trial before the CCT, Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, in 2012.
The anti-corruption agency accused Umar of receiving, through his personal assistant, Alhaji Gambo Abdullahi, the sum of N1.8m out of the N10m demanded from Taiwo in the same year.
The offences were said to be contrary to Section 12(1)(a) & (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2003.
The Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International in its suit filed before the Federal High Court on Friday, prayed the court to declare that having been charged with bribery offences, Umar “has put himself in a situation where his personal interest conflicts with his official duties, and should immediately vacate the office and cease to act as the chairman of the tribunal”.
It prayed the court to remove Umar from office, as the CCT which he leads, “was established to enforce the code of conduct for public officers and preside over cases of those accused and charged with failing to maintain a high standard of morality in the conduct of government business and for having failed to conform to the highest standard of public morality and accountability”.
It sought an order, “directing/compelling the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr. Danladi Yakubu Umar, who has put himself in a situation where his personal interest conflicts with his official duty to immediately vacate the office and cease to act as the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal having been accused and charged to court in charge number CR/109/18 at the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
The case has yet to be assigned to a judge.
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