Day of Reckoning for Danladi Umar

For the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Yakubu Umar, it is really a day of reckoning, Ejiofor Alike writes

About five years after the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Yakubu Umar illegally removed the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen from office, he is also set to be disgraced out of office by the Senate and the House of Representatives over alleged gross misconduct.

The Senate had last week announced that it had removed Umar from office over alleged gross misconduct.

The lawmakers said it made the decision pursuant to Section 157(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999, as amended), which empowers the Senate to remove key public officials through due process.

After a closed-door session lasting over one and a half hours, the Senate announced that more than 84 lawmakers supported the decision.

The motion leading to Umar’s removal was sponsored by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who highlighted the pivotal role of the CCT in maintaining high standards of morality and accountability in government.

Bamidele stated: “However, the conduct of Mr. Yakubu Danladi Umar has fallen short of these requisite standards for a public officer entrusted with such responsibilities

“The Senate has been inundated with series of petitions and allegations of corruption/misconduct against the Chairman, a situation that necessitated the 9th Senate, through the Senate Committee on Ethics Code of Conduct and Public Petitions to invite him to series of its investigative hearings in order to unravel the circumstances surrounding those allegations.

“However, he appeared before the Committee only once and thereafter avoided subsequent invitations.”

Reacting to the Senate’s resolution, Justice Onnoghen’s counsel, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) welcomed the decision.

 “I leave him (Umar) to God and his conscience. May the Lord forgive him,” Awomolo was quoted as saying in a media report.

Also reacting in a media report, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Afam Osigwe (SAN), okayed the Senate’s decision.

 “The constitution says that the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal can be removed by two-thirds of the Senate; so, if the Senate has passed through this process and the President accepts it, then they will remove him. If the constitutional provision for his removal is being followed, then that is okay,” he reportedly explained.

However, some legal practitioners under the aegis of Lawyers for the Cause of Bauchi (LAWBA) had faulted the procedure.

Addressing a press conference at the NUJ Secretariat in Bauchi, the Public and Media Relations Officer of the group, Nasiru H. Bala described the Senate’s decision as Illegal.

He contended that Section 157 (1) of the Constitution, which the Senate relied on, applies only to the offices of the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the National Judicial Council (NJC), the Federal Character Commission (FCC), the Nigeria Police Council, the National Population Commission (NPC), the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and the Police Service Commission (PSC).

According to him, Section 157 (1&2) does not apply to the CCT.

Section 157(2), he said, stated that a person holding the position of Chairman or member of the CCT shall not be removed from office by the president except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each chamber of the National Assembly.

He also argued that it is clear from the letter and spirit of Section 17 (3) of the Constitution that the removal or appointment of either the Chairman or member of the CCT is a function or responsibility vested in the President in discharging, which the two-third majority of both the Senate and the House of Representatives is of necessity.

Following this development, the Senate last Tuesday admitted its procedural error with the Senate Leader, Senator Bamidele saying there was a mistake in the earlier resolution of the Senate.

He subsequently urged his colleagues to rescind and correct the mistakes for the resolution calling for the removal of the CCT chairman to be effective.

Bamidele said the Senate invoked Section 157 (1) of the Constitution instead of Section 17 (3) which prescribed that the Senate and House of Representatives can present an address supported by ⅔ majority to the president advising him to remove a public officer.

The senate leader noted that the earlier resolution also ought to have been based on Section 22 (3) Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act 2004.

He therefore asked his colleagues to rescind the earlier constitutional provisions supporting the advice to remove the CCT Chairman and adopt the correct ones.

Bamidele also sought the concurrence of the House of Representatives to the resolution in accordance with the Section 17 (3) and the Nigerian constitution and 22 (3) Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act 2004, to enable the resolution to take effect.

On its part, the House of Representatives, on Tuesday, invoked Section 17 (3), Part 1, Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to seek Umar’s removal from office.

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.

The lawmaker drew the attention of his colleagues to the fact that Umar engaged in a public fight with a security guard at the Banex Plaza Shopping Complex, Abuja, in 2021, necessitating an invitation from the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions.

He argued that Umar had fallen short of the requisite standard of a public officer to conduct the affairs of such a tribunal.

The Senate and House of Representatives’ resolutions formally advised President Tinubu to remove Umar from office.

The day of reckoning has come for Umar due to the inglorious role he played in the illegal removal of Onnoghen from office by the former administration of Muhammadu Buhari.

Buhari’s administration, noted for its impunity, handed him a carefully orchestrated script to execute the infamous plot.

 Umar knew that he didn’t have the jurisdiction, but still went ahead to convict the former CJN under strange circumstances.

While the injustice suffered by Onnoghen in the hands of Umar and his sponsors has largely been redressed by a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal, Umar’s alleged sins have been exposed.

Today, it is Umar’s turn to be disgraced out of office in the most humiliating manner.

The lesson to learn from Umar’s downfall is that power is transient. 

Those who exercise power should not exercise it arbitrarily or with impunity to bring others down unjustly because sooner or later, the day of reckoning will come.