Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has queried the powers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to exonerate the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, Justice Danladi Umar, from prosecution, following his alleged complicity in a 10 million naira bribery scandal. Saraki dismissed the purported clearance issued to the CCT chairman by EFCC. He argued that under the law, only the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice had the powers to shield an accused person from criminal prosecution.
Saraki’s lawyer, Ajibola Oluyede, said the clearance the EFCC issued to Umar could not override the recommendation the immediate past AGF made in 2014 for his prosecution. He said further that EFCC’s position confirmed his earlier stand that he can’t get justice under a tribunal headed by Umar.
Oluyede added that Saraku’s application urging Justice Umar to disqualify himself from the trial was still pending before the tribunal. “We are not saying he (Umar) is guilty. We are saying he is tainted and that he cannot act independently while the EFCC that is investigating him and had indicted him is now prosecuting our client before him. That is why we asked him to excuse himself from the trial.
“He did so before in the case involving former FCT Minister, Jeremiah Useni, where he excused himself from the hearing on the grounds that he had a close relationship with Useni. We are asking him to do so again now because of the facts that we have presented,” the lawyer argued.
