In this report, Saturday Vanguard examines the facts and the law surrounding the recent removal of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the appointment of a replacement, Dr Mainasara Umar Kogo, by a mere press statement without any screening by the Federal Judicial Service Commission or any recommendation from the National Judicial Council (NJC). The report also captures perspectives of stakeholders on the issue.

Background

On July 13, 2024, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, by a press statement, approved the appointment of Dr Mainasara Umar Kogo as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Kogo is a seasoned lawyer and analyst in the fields of law, security, economy, politics, and international diplomacy.

He was expected to replace Justice Danladi Umar whose tenure of office was still running at the time Kogo’s appointment was announced.

The appointment, by implication, terminated the running tenure of office of Justice Danladi Umar.

Tinubu who did not give any reason for the purported sack of Justice Danladi however said that he expected the new chairman, Dr Kogo, to discharge the functions of his office with professionalism, integrity, and fidelity to the nation.

Vanguard reports that Justice Danladi Umar, a Fulani by tribe, was born on August 19, 1971 in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, in Northeastern Nigeria and was appointed at age 36 to the CCT as Acting Chairman.

Prior to becoming the acting chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) of Nigeria, he was a lawyer and a Chief Magistrate in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

He became the substantive chairman of the CCT four months later on July 11, 2011, replacing his predecessor, Justice Murtala Adebayo Sanni who died on January 24, 2011.

That was after the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC) and the National Judicial Council (NJC) screened and recommended him respectively to the president (President Goodluck Jonathan) for the appointment.

He was sworn In by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), late Justice Aloysius A. I. Katsina-Alu at the Supreme Court alongside two other new tribunal members, retired Justice Robert Isaac Ewa Odu and Barrister Atedze William Agwaza, making up the three members of the CCT tribunal.

He is the youngest person to ever hold the office of the chairman of the CCT.

By virtue of the provisions of Paragraph 17(1) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) and barring any serious ill-health, misconduct or death, he is expected to remain the helmsman of the tribunal until he clocks the mandatory retirement age of 70 years.

Specifically, Justice Danladi is constitutionally billed to retire in 2041.

But on July 13, 2024, when he still has 17 more years on the bench, President Tinubu removed him from office.

Justice Danladi’s sins

Going memory lane, Justice Danladi has actually had issues with the authorities lately.

For instance, in 2018, the incumbent Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, as an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, prosecutor, had filed a bribery and judicial racketeering case against Justice Danladi Umar, Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal.

He was accused of receiving N1.8 million out of alleged N10 million he demanded from one Rasheed Taiwo in 2012.

But the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, withdrew Keyamo’s case against Umar for “lack of merit”.

The case was subsequently struck out by Justice Yusuf Halilu of the Abuja High Court.

His role in the code of conduct cases against former Senate President, Bukola Saraki and a former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen had caused him to step on toes.

The name of Danladi Umar resurfaced once again on March 29, 2021 for the wrong reasons.

He was seen in a viral video assaulting a 22-year-old security guard, Clement Sargwak, whose only offence was that he tried to do his job – ensure that Umar’s car was properly parked at the Banex Plaza parking lot, Wuse 2, in Abuja.

The Tribunal was later to issue a statement accusing Sargwak of threatening Umar and being “rude”. The statement described the people who tried to save Sargwak from his highly-placed physical assailant as “Biafra boys”.

Contrary to expectations, those who hoped that the incident would as usual, die down after the initial fuss, were mistaken.

Several steps were taken by concerned rights groups to bring him to justice.

One, Sargwak’s legal counsel, Samuel Ihensekhien, Esq, petitioned the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, seeking an indictment of Umar for aggravated physical assault, cybercrime, racism and distribution of xenophobic material.

Two, the lawyer also filed a petition against Mr Umar to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to investigate him and determine whether he remains a fit and proper person to continue to sit as chairman of the CCT.

The Senate panel headed by Ayo Akinyelure summoned Justice Danladi to appear before the Senate. But instead of him to appear, the judicial officer had approached a Federal high court with an originating summons dated July 13, 2021, seeking an order to bar the senate from probing him while the panel suspended its sitting until conclusion of the case.

Three, the first Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, John Aikpokpo Martins, petitioned against Umar at the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Council, LPPC, for violating professional conduct and putting the legal profession into public ridicule.

Also, a number of civil society groups called for action against Umar to save the sanitity of the office he occupies.

Also in June 2022, some workers in the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja, accused Justice Danladi Umar, of fraud, corruption, nepotism and marginalization.

The chairman was also accused of awarding fraudulent contracts to friends without recourse to procedure and due process while he was also said to have blocked annual training for staff, among other allegations including that he had a bed in his office.

But in all of these allegations, no indictment has been successfully established against him neither had the National Assembly, to the public knowledge, prayed President Tinubu to remove Justice Danladi upon an address by the two chambers of the national legislature as required by the 1999 Constitution (As Amended).

Notwithstanding, the Presidency removed Justice Danladi and named a replacement in July this year.

Lawyers kick over replacement of Justice Danladi

However, soon after Dr Mainassara Kogo was named the new chairman of the CCT, top lawyers in private and public service including a former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Bayero University Kano, Prof Mamman Lawan Yusufari, SAN, Mr Ikoro N. Ikoro, among others, faulted the appointment for more reasons than one.

Specifically, the lawyers, by their combined submissions, cited Paragraphs 15 (3), 17 (1),(3),(4) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) for standing against Justice Umar’s removal.

Indeed, Paragraph 15(3) of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (As Amended) provides that the Chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council while Paragraph 17(3) provides that they shall not be removed from their office except upon an address supported by two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly only for inability to discharge the functions of the office in question (whether arising from infirmity of the mind or body) or for misconduct or for contravention of this code

Similarly, Paragraph 17(1) says the Chairman or member of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall vacate his office when he attains the age of seventy (70) years while Paragraph 17(4) says the chairman or members of the tribunal shall not be removed from office before retiring age save in accordance with the provisions of the code of conduct for public officers.

The lawyers who cited the provisions said that though it is not in dispute that Dr Kogo may be qualified for appointment as chairman of CCT, yet, the record showed that he was not recommended by neither the Federal Judicial Service Commission nor the National Judicial Council to President Tinubu, a condition precedent, before his appointment was announced.

It was also their argument that though Justice Umar had had a running battle with the authorities in the past, yet, at no time was he indicted of misconduct nor was the two chambers of the National Assembly, by an address, supported by two-third majority, asked for his removal from office.

Besides, the lawyers said Justice Danladi is less than 70 years and therefore cannot be removed except according to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution.

Justice Danladi holds on in office

Almost one month now that the appointment of Justice Kogo was announced, he was neither yet to be sworn in nor assume office.

Investigations by Vanguard revealed that Justice Danladi is still hanging around at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

An impeccable source who is close to the Office of the CCT chairman told Vanguard that Justice Danladi has taken up the matter with the presidency and may resort to litigation if he is not reinstated soon.

The source who preferred anonymity however told Vanguard that while the Presidency may have a lot of reasons to remove him at all cost, he said it did appear that they never knew that “For this position, it requires a whole lot of procedure to remove and to appoint.”

The source also said that not only were both the FJSC and the NJC surprised by the announcement of replacement for Justice Danladi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, was also embarrassed.

Fagbemi, SAN, it was learnt, was not consulted by President Tinubu before the decision was taken.

“I can tell you that this is not the first serious error this APC administration will make regarding appointment. In the past, a candidate who was over 70 years was appointed a Bureau chairman. They have just appointed a new one. Even the new appointee has been named for over two months now, he has not been sworn in.

“I am thinking that the Presidency felt that the position of the CCT chairman is like that of the Code of Conduct Bureau. You know, for that position, the President would appoint a candidate, Senate will clear him and he will now be sworn in.

“They do not know that an appointment as the Chairman of the CCT is totally different, that it is like you are appointing a judge of a high court. Appointment of the chairman and members of the CCT is covered by the Federal Judicial Service Commission rules of appointment. Let’s watch and see what happens next,” the source added. (Saturday Vanguard)

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