There was commotion at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Thursday, as the CCT Chairman, Danladi Umar, refused to hear the motion of the Senate President’s lawyers on his alleged bias.
Umar, who apparently was the judge in his own case, has been under investigation for corrupt practices. He lost his temper as Mr. Raphael Oluyede, Saraki’s lawyer, brought to the attention of the court, a motion filed on Wednesday, April 20th, 2016, seeking the CCT boss to disqualify himself from participating in the trial based on bias.
The motion contended that the continued presence of Umar on the panel of Tribunal offended the provisions of Section 36(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which prescribes that “In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality”.
However, when Oluyede attempted to bring up the motion, Justice Umar lost his temper and repeatedly yelled at Oluyede to “Sit down.”
CCT Chairman Danladi Umar shouts down Saraki’s lawyer. Tells him to SIT DOWN! #FairTrialForSaraki pic.twitter.com/QZlzbWcetv
— #OfficeOfTheCitizen (@CitizenlnChief) April 21, 2016
It will be recalled that with the main prosecution witnesses being drawn from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Umar as Chairman of the CCT is an object of investigation for corrupt practices by the same EFCC.
After Oluyede demanded to be heard, Umar, upset by the revelations, called for police officers to throw out the counsel to the Senate President. However, Oluyede sat down on arrival of the police officers and maintained that he would not be intimidated.
These developments, especially Umar’s demeanour to Saraki’s motion, observers say, lend credence to the notion that the CCT boss might in fact be compromised.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
