Emerging reports suggest the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, will on March 16 arraign the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar before an Abuja High Court on charges of allegedly demanding and receiving money from a defendant standing trial before the CCT in 2012.
Recall that the Commission had on February 2, 2018 through a private lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, filed the charges against Umar .The EFCC is accusing Umar of allegedly asking for and receiving bribes in the discharge of his official duties, although it had earlier cleared him of all allegations of corruption leveled against him.
The Counsel to the Senate President had earlier, in the trial of his client at the CCT asked Umar to relieve himself of the trial because of the allegations of corruption leveled against him, stressing that he was not qualified to preside over the case. EFCC had responded that Umar had no case to answer as he had been cleared of all allegations of corruption.
In a charge sheet made available to Vigil360, the EFCC is accusing the CCT Chairman of asking for the sum of N10m from one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, sometime in 2012, in order to show the said Rasheed Taiwo favour in a charge pending against him.
In the second count, the CCT Chairman was charged with receiving the sum of N1.8m from the said Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo. The money was allegedly paid through Mr Danladi Umar’s Personal Assistant, Alhaji Gambo Abdullahi.
Meanwhile, a judge is yet to be assigned the case file.