The clearance letter Justice Danladi Umar is flourishing might not be enough to convince Sen. President Bukola Saraki and his sympathisers the CCT chairman can be fair sitting at judgement in Saraki’s false asset declaration trial.
According to Saraki, the clearance letter which the EFCC issued Umar cannot over-ride the recommendation made in 2014 by the attorney-general of the federation for Umar’s to be prosecuted.
“It is only the AGF that possesses the powers, under the law, to reverse a decision to prosecute,” said Ajibola Oluyede, one of the 90 lawyers holding brief for the senator before the tribunal, said in Abuja on Thursday.
Police men nearly carried Oluyede out of the court spread-eagled on Thursday when he tried to outface Umar in an argument over the relevance of a new motion the lawyer filed.
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In the motion, the lawyer was asking the CCT chairman to disqualify himself from the tribunal because of the N10- million-bribe allegation levelled against him last year, which he believed was still under investigation.
The EFCC, however, said the allegation was merely suspicious in its clearance letter issued last week.
Although it was widely reported the motion was thrown out by an angry Umar, Oluyede said the disqualification motion is still before the court.
“We are not saying Umar is guilty,” said Oluyede.” We vare inly saying he’s tainted, and he cannot act independently while the EFCC investigating him is the one prosecuting our client before him.”
Day 5 of the trial continues Wednesday.