request by Justice Danladi Umar, Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal, to drop
corruption charges investigation against him.
A group, Anti-Corruption Network, had petitioned the house, alleging that the tribunal
chairman was corrupt, and cited instances which amounts involved amounted to N10
million.
At the resumed sitting of the committee, Umar urged the Uzoma Nkem- Abonta’s
committee to drop the investigation as the petitioner, who was absent at the sitting
appeared to have abandoned the case.
He said: “as a matter of fact, we have great respect for this institution that is why we
have been here all these while.
“We do really have tight schedule of work in our office, including judgements and
administrative works to do.
“So, we implore this honourable House to consider this petition abandoned because if
they are serious they would have been here,” Umar pleaded.
Earlier, Mr Olusegun Abereoran, Director of Operations for Anti-Corruption Network, had
pleaded for additional seven days to enable the Executive Secretary of the organisation
to prepare the brief as demanded by the committee.
In his remarks, chairman of the committee, who consulted with the members, deplored
the failure of the petitioner to appear and present his brief.
He threatened to sanction the petitioner if he failed to appear at the next hearing,
saying, “We seriously take exception to this attitude because justice delayed is justice
denied.
“We have no reason to drag man or group of individuals on frivolous excuses.
“We must all have regards for the people that appear; we should understand that others
are busy and must be working.
“We are pursuing an era of change where impunity is no longer the order of the day
and people must take responsibility for their liability and actions,” he said.
On Umar’s request to drop the probe, Nkem-Abonta said: “We reasoned with you;
ordinarily it should be deemed abandoned if the anti-corruption group fail to appear, we
cannot do that now”.
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