Twists, turns as CCT chair’s bribery charge pits AGF against EFCC

The new twist in the working relationship between the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the head of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu has further cast doubt on whether or not the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar has a case to answer […]

The new twist in the working relationship between the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) and the head of Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, Ibrahim Magu has further cast doubt on whether or not the chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar has a case to answer in the bribery allegations against him.

Malami’s decision to issue a query to Magu, the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on what informed the fraud charges filed against Umar after the anti-graft agency had cleared Umar of the same charges on two previous occasions awashed the media landscape this week.

In a separate letter, a top lawyer, Festus Keyamo (SAN), who took the brief to prosecute the CCT chair, was also asked by the AGF to confirm who authorized him to file the corruption charge.

The anti-graft agency in a two-count charge on February 2 alleged that the tribunal chairman asked one Rasheed Owolabi Taiwo, who was appearing before him as an accused person, for the sum of N10 million so as to show him favour while hearing his case. Keyamo is also the counsel representing Taiwo before the tribunal.

The CCT chair was further accused to have received N1.8 million out of the requested N10 million through his Personal Assistant (PA), one Gambo Abdullahi. The case is scheduled for arraignment on March 15 before the Chief Judge of the FCT High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello.

Reacting to this development, the House of Representatives on February 8 criticised both Malami and Magu for allegedly manipulating the country’s legal system after the house’s Minority Whip, Yakubu Barde (PDP, Kaduna) in a motion noted that the AGF, EFCC and the CCT were supposed to be indispensable in the fight against corruption.

Barde had said it gives a wrong impression of the anti-corruption war for the EFCC, which had previously issued a statement absolving Umar of any wrong doing, to now charged him for the same offence around the time the Senate President Bukola Saraki was to return to the CCT to defend the charge of false and anticipatory asset declaration.

He said, “It becomes worrisome that any possible convictions or findings, which the CCT may make from the same Danladi Umar being charged, may be rendered null and void by the Court of Appeal and thereby frustrating the course of justice. It is disturbing that the AGF is instrumental to this unwholesome saga playing out in our administration of justice system.”

The House Committee on Judiciary was subsequently mandated to interact with the AGF to ensure that sanity is brought back to the justice system.

Presumably from the outcome of the interaction, the AGF issued the query, which was signed by the Solicitor General of the Federation and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Dayo Apata.

The AGF asked Magu to refer to the EFCC’s investigation report dated March 5, 2015 addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) which states that: “The facts as they are now against Justice Umar raised a mere suspicion and will therefore not be sufficient to successfully prosecute.”

He said it was this position by the EFCC that informed his decision to appear before the House of Representatives’ Investigative Committee sometimes in 2015 where he maintained and sustained that the allegations against Umar were based on mere suspicions and thus, not worthy of prosecuting.

“In view of the foregoing, the AGF requests for your prompt briefing as to the existence of new facts which are contrary to the position in your attached investigation report, sufficient evidence or other developments upon which the prosecution of Justice Danladi can be successfully based”, the query read in part.

Aside the March 2015 report referred to by the AGF, the EFCC had also in April 20, 2016 wrote another letter to the SGF where it reiterated that the allegations of bribery against Umar “were merely suspicions and consequently insufficient to prosecute the offence.”

The 2016 letter, signed by the Secretary to the Commission, Emmanuel Adegboyega Aremo, came in the heat of calls by Saraki’s counsels asking the CCT chair to recuse himself from the Senate president’s case in view of the bribery allegations which they said was still hanging on his head.

Saraki’s lawyers had contended that it would be difficult for Umar who was being investigated by the EFCC for alleged corruption to do justice in their client’s case. Using the clearance by the EFCC, Umar overruled Saraki’s objection and proceeded to hear the matter.

A source familiar with the development said Magu’s reply to the AGF’s query was hinged on developments in the trial of the PA to Umar before an FCT High Court in Apo. He said the trial judge in that suit had ruled that the confessional statement by the PA was admissible.

The source said EFCC believed that since the statement, said to have incriminated the CCT chairman, has been deemed admissible by a competent court of law, the agency considered it expedient to revisit the case. “Since the confessional statement could be considered admissible by the court, they believe that a case against Umar could be successfully built on the statement,” he said.

Some critics said EFCC’s decision to revisit Umar’s case may not be unconnected to the decision of the tribunal when it upheld Saraki’s no-case submission. They said with the return of Saraki to the tribunal to defend three of the 16-counts charge after the Appeal Court’s decision, it was suspicious of the EFCC to now institute the bribery charge against the CCT chair.

Others opine that the CCT chair could just be a pawn in the game of power between Magu and the AGF. Recall that in July 2016, the AGF had requested all prosecutorial agencies to submit to his office their lists of high profile cases for his review. While others, including the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) and the Nigeria Police, complied, the EFCC resisted; but after several threats of sanctions, Magu buckled and released the list, three months after the request.

While responding to insinuations of rift between Magu and the AGF especially as regards the investigation and prosecution of high profile cases, a senior lawyer and Life Bencher, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) had in a recent interview with Daily Trust said there cannot be rift between both of them as “it is a question of a superior officer and a subordinate. Nobody can question his (AGF) decision except the courts and the President who appointed him and if the President is not satisfied with his performance, he removes him. But that’s not to say that as long as he remains the AGF, he cannot give orders, instructions and commands.”

With the scheduled arraignment of the CCT chair only weeks away, Nigerians will be eager to find out whether or not the EFCC will capitulate by withdrawing the charge.

Meanwhile, in the midst of the imbroglio, an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation, Kingdom Human Rights Foundation International, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking the removal of the CCT chairman following the bribery charges filed against him by the EFCC.

The group in the suit filed through its lawyer, Mr. Okere Nnamdi, seeks an order of mandamus compelling President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to perform their constitutional duties by commencing the process of removing the CCT chairman.

The CCT chairman, President Buhari, the AGF and the National Assembly are joined as respondents in the suit.