A human rights group, the Access to Justice (A2Justice), has called for the suspension of Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman Danladi Umar until his trial is concluded.
It urged anti-corruption agencies to be consistent in fighting judicial corruption.
A2Justice, Nigeria’s judicial watchdog, noted that there were “questionable dithering and capriciousness” prior to filing the charge against Umar.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) charged Umar with demanding and receiving bribes from Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, a defendant standing trial before the CCT.
A2Justice, in a statement by its Director Joseph Otteh, welcomed efforts to ensure that institutions of justice, such as the CCT, function with integrity and that judicial officers do not pervert the cause of justice or abuse their authority.
“In this respect, we welcome efforts to establish whether Umar is guilty of allegations made against him and is fit to continue in his current office.
“However, A2Justice regrets that the EFCC did not act sooner with respect to Umar, and waited for nearly five years before reaching the decision to do something.
“Unfortunately, that time interval has been a costly one: the failure to act before this time fostered the impression that Umar was invincible and unstoppable, and gave him the opportunity to run the CCT as a personal fiefdom,” the group said.
A2Justice said right from the time of his appointment, Umar had been dogged by allegations of corruption and financial malpractices, claims that came both from within the Tribunal and outside of it.
“Efforts by a number of whistle-blowers to draw the attention of anti-corruption agencies to what was going on within the CCT drew blank, and in the end, those people were forced out of the CCT.
“The failure of the EFCC to act on the many allegations against Umar for many years, until now, will trigger doubts among many about whether the Commission is now going after Umar in good faith, or, if indeed, other overarching factors are at play in this dramatic turn of events.
“These cynicisms will create ambivalent perceptions of the forthrightness of anti-corruption agencies, and, in this case, spark some level of public anxiety about the motive behind this prosecution, a scepticism that is wholly unhealthy in the fight against corruption.
“To fight judicial corruption effectively, anti-corruption agencies must, as a rule of thumb, be consistent and unwavering, and not permit the public to read mixed messages from what they do, or do not do,” A2Justice said.
It called for the Umar’s suspension from office until his trial ends. Meanwhile, A2Justice urged Umar to go on an indefinite leave pending when he is formally suspended.
“Notwithstanding the trial, and as we said in our 2016 report of the CCT: ‘It is no longer tenable for Umar to continue in office as the Chairman of the Tribuna,’ ” the group said.
According to A2Justice, the allegations of corruption against Umar have brought public ridicule and embarrassment on CCT, adding that it has done incalculable harm to the image of the Tribunal and the Judiciary.
“The Tribunal under Umar does not have the integrity, public trust and ‘moral character’ it needs to fight corruption, which is something of a paradox given that the Tribunal is established to enforce public morality.
“The CCT needs a new leadership that will restore public trust in it, provide purposeful leadership for the staff and put the tribunal’s powers to effective use,” the group said.
A2Justice called for the appointment of a third member of the tribunal as well as its reform.
Among others, it said the CCT should be removed from executive control and placed under the supervision of the Judiciary.
“The failure of the Federal Government to appoint a third member of the CCT to fill a position that has been vacant for many years greatly undermines the work of the CCT and the fight against corruption.
“There are many aspects of the framework of the CCT that sub-serves the Tribunal’s ability to function efficiently and with integrity.
“The government should use this opportunity to reform the framework of the CCT.
“Most importantly, it should ensure that the CCT is no longer placed under the executive branch of government but under the Judiciary and is made accountable to judicial oversight bodies – such as the National Judicial Council (NJC).
“This will give the Tribunal greater independence and ensure more effective oversight of Tribunal members.
“It will make the Tribunal a more accountable anti-corruption institution,” A2Justice said.
