Former Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, has been remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre after he was arraigned before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja over alleged corruption and abuse of office.
Justice Peter Kekemeke of the FCT High Court sitting in Maitama ordered Umar’s remand on Thursday after the Federal Government brought a four-count charge against him, accusing him of receiving illegal payments from contractors while serving as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The former CCT Chairman pleaded not guilty to all the charges, while the court fixed July 15 to hear his bail application.
According to the prosecution, investigations revealed that Umar allegedly used his wife’s bank account to receive ₦5.5 million from a contractor awarded the contract to paint the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja in 2021.
The Federal Government further alleged that on January 25, 2024, Umar again used the same account to receive ₦6 million from another contractor handling the digitisation of the Tribunal’s records.
In another count, the prosecution accused him of directing a contractor to pay ₦2.43 million for his daughter’s tuition at Baze University, Abuja.
The alleged offences are said to contravene Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
After Umar pleaded not guilty, prosecuting counsel, Christopher Mshelia, asked the court to remand him in a correctional facility and fix a date for trial.
His defence team, however, applied for bail pending the determination of the case.
The prosecution opposed the immediate hearing of the bail application, informing the court that it had only recently been served with the application and needed time to file a response.
After hearing both parties, Justice Kekemeke adjourned proceedings until July 15 for the hearing of the bail application and ordered that Umar be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of the application.
Umar’s arraignment comes years after he presided over one of Nigeria’s most controversial judicial proceedings involving the removal of the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
On January 23, 2019, while serving as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Umar issued an ex parte order that paved the way for Onnoghen’s suspension as Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Two days later, then-President, Muhammadu Buhari, swore in Justice Tanko Muhammad, who was the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court at the time, as Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Although Onnoghen resigned from office on April 4, 2019, Umar went ahead to convict him on April 18, 2019, over allegations of false asset declaration.
Following the conviction, Umar ordered the forfeiture of funds in five bank accounts belonging to the former CJN and also removed him from his positions as Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) and the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
