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CCT chairman enters dock Thursday for bribery allegation raised 5 yrs ago

Published

8 years ago

February 14, 2018

Feyijimi Emmanuel

The EFCC will on Thursday dock the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr. Danladi

Yakubu Umar before Justice Ishaq Bello of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja.

Umar is being prosecuted for allegedly extracting N10 million in bribe from a litigant in a case filed in his tribunal five years ago.

Holding brief for the commission are Festus Keyamo and Offem Uket.

According to the rap sheet, Umar demanded and collected the sum from a litigant, Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, a retired Customs officer, through his personal assistant, Gambo Abdullahi, in order to favour him in a case pending in his tribunal.

Count one of the charge reads: “ That you, Daladi Yakubu Umar, being the chairman of the CCT and presiding over a case with charge No.CCT/Abuja/03/12, involving one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, sometime in 2012 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, did ask for the sum of N10 million from the said Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, for the favour to be afterwards shown to him in relation to the pending charge in discharge of your official duties and thereby committed and offence contrary to Section 12(1)9a) and (b) of the ICPC Act 2003.

Count 2 of the charge reads: “That you, Daladi Yakubu Umar, being the chairman of the CCT and presiding over a case with charge No.CCT/Abuja/03/12, involving one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, sometime in 2012 at Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable court, did receive the sum of N1.8 million from the said Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, through your personal assistant by name Gambo Abdullahi, for the favour to be afterwards shown to him in relation to the pending charge in discharge of your official duties and thereby committed and offence contrary to Section 12(1)9a) and (b) of the ICPC Act.

The EFCC has lined up six key witnesses against Umar. That is in addition to evidence including the Zenith Bank cheque and staff, who transferred the amount to Danladi’s PA’s account and other documents related to the charge.

The commission turnaround will surprise many Nigerians already aware that the EFCC gave Umar a clean bill of health when Senate President Bukola Saraki made effort to discredit him on corruption allegation in 2015.

Saraki was acquitted last year after over a year of trial on false asset declaration at the CCT.

But the decision to charge Umar to court while still handling the prolonged Senate’s President’s asset declaration case, has led to bad blood between the National Assembly and the EFCC.

Last week, the NASS passed a resolution to confront the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and the EFCC for allegedly trying to stampede the CCT in the ongoing trial of Saraki.