Alarm over renewed corruption charge against CCT chair, Umar

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TUNDE OYESINA writes on the dust being raised by an alleged
corruption tag on the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal,
Barr. Danladi Umar, who was once cleared of the same allegation by
the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)

For the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar,
it is indeed a trying moment.

Reason: He is facing allegations of bribery and corruption which
he was last year given a clean bill of health.

But all that changed a few days ago as the nation’s anti-graft
agency–the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had about two
weeks ago filed a corruption charge against him before a Federal
High Court.

Interestingly, the charge is coming shortly after the Court of
Appeal, Abuja Division returned a graft case initiated against
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki to the tribunal.

The appellate court asked Saraki to defend himself on three
counts of the 18 counts bothering on false assets declaration
slammed on him by the federal government.
Initially, the tribunal had discharged and acquitted Saraki of the
18 counts on the grounds that no prima facie case was established
against him as the prosecution had failed to link Saraki with the
said charge.

Apparently dissatisfied with the clean bill of health granted
Saraki, the federal government through its lawyer, Mr. Rotimi
Jacobs, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria had approached the appellate
court.

In its ruling, the three member panel Court of Appeal led by
Justice Tinuade Wilson reversed the acquittal and held that Saraki
should go back to the tribunal to defend himself on three of the 18
counts of asset declaration initiated against him by the federal
government.

While the trial of Saraki was to commence on February 6, the
Federal Government on February 2 slammed a corruption charge on the
CCT Chairman barely two years after he was cleared of any
corruption allegation by the EFCC through a letter shortly before
Saraki’s trial commenced in 2016.

Umar’s travails began when one of Saraki’s lawyer, Ajibola
Oluyede had at the beginning of his trial asked Umar to disqualify
himself from presiding over the matter on the grounds that there
was a pending corruption charge against him by the anti-graft
agency which was at the same time prosecuting his client.

But EFCC dismissed the allegation against the CCT chairman,
saying there was no strong evidence of corruption that would
provide basis for Umar’s prosecution, describing the allegations as
“suspicious” and “insufficient.”

Specifically, in a letter addressed to the Secretary to the
Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, the EFCC said Umar
was being cleared the second time after its officers had carried
out a thorough investigation on the petitions against the tribunal
chairman.

The letter reads: ‘‘We would like to reiterate the Commission’s
position in regard to this matter as earlier communicated to you
and stated that the allegations levelled against Mr. Umar were mere
suspicious and consequently insufficient to successfully prosecute
the offence.”

The letter, with reference number EFCC/P/NHRU/688/V.30/99, and
dated April 20, 2016, was signed by the secretary to the
commission, Emmanuel Aremo.

The letter dated April 20, 2016 was the second written to
federal authorities by the EFCC to clear Umar after the first
letter dated March 5, 2015 through Babachir Lawal’s predecessor,
Pius Anyim.

In the letter, the EFCC said there was no strong case against
Umar but that there was prima facie evidence to prosecute Umar’s
Personal Assistant“, who could offer no coherent excuse for
receiving N1.8million into his salary account from an accused
person, Taiwo standing trial at the Tribunal.”

Umar had, however, come under intense scrutiny since the
commencement of trial of Saraki with many accusing him of being
equally tainted and calling on him to excuse himself from Saraki’s
case.

Besides, a group, the Anti-Corruption Network had accused Umar
of useing his office to purchase N34.9million exotic vehicles,
furniture and other household items without recourse to due
process.

The ACN, led by Senator Dino Melaye, an ally of the Senate
President, dragged Umar before the House of Representatives
Committee on Public Petitions over the allegations.

Umar denied the allegations in its entirety.

But in all of these, the nation’s Justice Minister and
Attorney-General, Abubakar Malami could not put Umary on trial as
he said there was no “material fact” to put Umar on trial.

According to Malami, it was difficult to initiate any criminal
petition against the CCT chairman following his defence against the
Melaye-led CAN’s petition and the EFCC’s verdict on the matter.

Malami said: “Deriving from the conclusions, it became difficult
for any prosecution to be initiated on the basis of facts as they
were presented.
“The position of the Office of the Attorney-General of the
Federation is that in the absence of further material fact in the
allegations, we find it very difficult to prosecute Alhaji Umar in
the circumstances against the background of his presentation and
further conclusion arrived at by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission.”

But in a twist, the anti-graft agency through a private
prosecutor, Festus Keyamo SAN on February 2 filed fresh corruption
charges against Umar.

The charge came two years after the anti-graft agency absolved
Umar of any wrongdoing in a case of judicial bribery and
racketeering.

Umar was alleged in the charge to have collected N10million from
Rasheed Taiwo, a former Customs official who was facing false
assets declaration charges before the Code of Conduct Tribunal
sometimes in 2012.

The prosecution also accused Umar of receiving N1.8 million of
the N10million bribe through one of his personal assistants, Gambo
Abdullahi.

The two counts of fraud, however, contradicted Section 12(1) (a)
and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act,
2003 as stated by Keyamo in an affidavit prepared on January 25 and
stamped on February 2 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The penalty for the said charge if convicted could attract up to
seven years’ imprisonment.

However, examination of the fresh charges indicated that they
carry the same substance as the grounds for which anti-graft
detectives had earlier cleared Umar.

Umar, while reacting to the fresh charges last Tuesday said he
was prepared to fight off the corruption charges filed against him
by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Umar, in his comments claimed that he was facing “trumped up
charges,” but was nonetheless prepared to vigorously defend himself
in courts.

“We’re waiting for the court summons and which judge the case
will be assigned to.

“After that, we’ll see how this would play out”, he stated.

He, however, accused the EFCC of “unstable” tactics, saying the
charges were brought against him after he had been twice cleared by
the same agency.
Umar said he wondered why Keyamo suddenly became the prosecuting
counsel in the bribery case, especially since his law firm had been
standing as defence counsel for Taiwo.

“Mr. Keyamo was the defence counsel for the ex-Customs official
that was charged for falsely declaring his assets,” Mr. Al-Hassan
said. “But now he has suddenly become the EFCC prosecutor to charge
the CCT chairman for the allegations that his client brought.”

Umar noted that Keyamo appeared for Taiwo until recently when he
stopped coming.

“Still, lawyers from his chambers stilled appeared for Taiwo in
the last two hearings.”

Umar further stated that the EFCC had nothing on him since it
was bringing up the same charges in which the anti-graft detectives
had cleared him of any wrongdoing at least two different occasions
in the past.

Meanwhile, Saraki had sympathised with Umar for his travails in
the hands of the EFCC which suddenly woke up four days to the
resume his own case.

In the same vein, the House of Representatives has condemned the
seeming manipulation of the nation’s legal system by the Attorney
General of the Federation and minister for justice, Mallam Abubakar
Malami and the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC), Alhaji Ibrahim Magu in the latest prosecution of
Umar.

At the same time, members of the House of Representatives from
Kwara state had urged both the AGF and the EFCC chairman not to
compromise the cases being handled by the CCT chairman.

The House resolution was sequel to a motion under matters of
urgent public importance sponsored by Hon. Yakubu Barde (PDP,
Kaduna) on the “need to ensure sanity in the administration of
justice system in the fight against corruption in Nigeria by the
Attorney-General of the Federation.”

Leading debate on the motion, Barde, who expressed concern that
the chairman of the CCT, Umar had been charged with two count
charges of corruption before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)
High Court by the EFCC explained that the same EFCC and the
Attorney General had previously cleared Umar of the same
allegations which formed the basis of the fresh two count
charge.

Any possible convictions or findings which the CCT may make from
the same Danladi Umar being charged, may be rendered null and void
by the court of Appeal and thereby frustrating the course of
Justices,’’Barde said.

Supporting the motion, Hon. Ahmad Aliyu Pategi (APC, Kwara) said
that the case against the Senate President was an instance of
political manipulation. `EFCC and CCT are political tools used by
the present Government to witch hunt perceived enemies,’’ he
said.

In his contribution, Hon. Razak Atunwa (APC,Kwara), saidthe
shenanigans and intrigues in the CCT and the trial of the Senate
president is laughable. No doubt there is connivance between the
AGF and the EFCC against the Senate president.’’

Others who supported the motion were Hon. Albert Adeogun (APC,
Osun), Hon. Abubakar Kannaike (APC, Kwara) and Hon. Gabriel
Onyenife (APGA, Anambra),
However, Hon. Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno), opposed the motion
submitting that “the presumption of innocence gives the judge the
right to go ahead in preside over the matter.’ He argued that the
case against the Senate President Bukola Saraki was a retrial so
Umar could preside over it.

The motion was therefore, adopted by members when it was put to
a voice vote by the Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

Meanwhile, the Kwara lawmakers in the House led by Hon. Razaq
Atunwa, Hon. Mohammed Zakari and Hon. Abubakar Amuda Kannaike at a
press briefing explained that the motion was not about the trial of
the senate president but the seeming double standards both the EFCC
and the AGF were playing out.

Addressing the media, Atunwa said it was ‘manifestly absurd to
allow a judge who was undergoing trial to sit in judgement against
others’ as according to him, any judgement given by such judge
would be a subject of controversy.

Atunwa maintained that “any judgement or conviction or acquittal
by the CCT presided over by Danladi Umar will be ‘null and void’
adding that it ‘is manifestly preposterous’ for the judge to
continue with the cases he is handling.

‘Where is the morality in this scenario? On the one hand, the
EFCC believes that Danladi Umar is corrupt and on the other hand,
he can sit on a case being prosecuted by the EFCC.”

He said both the EFCC and the CCT operates under the Presidency
and it will be wrong for the person heading the CCT to be handling
cases being prosecuted by the EFCC and at the same time facing
allegations of corruption from the same body.

Also speaking at the briefing, Hon. Zakari Mohammed bemoaned the
manner both the AGF and the EFCC chairman were handling the CCT
chairman’s case, describing as unethical.

The matter is yet to be assigned to a judge.