Civil Society Network
Against Corruption (CSNAC), a coalition of over 150 Nigerian anti-corruption
groups, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to
re-investigate Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman Danlami Umar over his
alleged involvement in bribery and
abuse of office.
According to the coalition, a case between the CCT and
the former Comptroller of Customs, Rasheed Taiwo, involving bribery and
abuse of office implicated Mr. Umar, prompting the need for a fresh
investigation against the CCT chair.
CSNAC
is alleging that Mr. Umar demanded a N10m bribe from Mr. Taiwo while
he was being prosecuted for failing to declare his assets while serving as
Comptroller of Customs.
In
CSNAC's petition to the EFCC, the coalition's national chairman, Olanrewaju
Suraju, explained, "Mr. Umar was alleged to have demanded a N10 million
bribe from a retired Comptroller of Customs, Rasheed Taiwo, who was prosecuted
at the CCT for allegedly failing to declare his assets while in office. A
newspaper stated that the retired Comptroller of Customs, Mr. Taiwo, had
reported the demand to the EFCC and was advised to play along, leading to the
payment of N1.8 million to the Chairman of the CCT through the latter's
personal assistant."
CSNAC
further explained that three CCT employees - Shotunde Adeyinka, Lucky Eronlan,
and Johnson Owopetu - were transferred from the Abuja headquarters to Ondo,
Bauchi, and Katsina States, respectively, under "controversial
circumstances." The trio had allegedly petitioned the EFCC to investigate
Mr. Umar's corrupt actions, including awarding contracts without due process,
making full contract payments to contractors instead of mobilization fees, and
appointing and promoting employees without adhering to the federal character
principle.
The
EFCC, however, found that the allegations against Mr. Umar were "mere
suspicion" and lacked sufficient evidence to
prosecute him. CSNAC said this statement contradicted a report by
Leadership Newspaper which revealed that the EFCC told an Abuja High Court that
Mr. Umar's personal assistant, Alli Gambo Abdullahi, named Mr. Umar as the
beneficiary of Mr. Taiwo's bribery payment. However, Mr. Abdullahi later denied
making the statement.
Abdulmajeed
Ibrahim, an EFCC operative, said, "the denial made by Abdullahi in another
statement cannot invalidate the first statement of 2013 because it was
voluntary made by the accused person. The witness, who was led in evidence by
EFCC Counsel Andrew Akoja, urged the court to disregard and reject the denial
of Abdullahi that he did not give the bribery money to Justice Umar."
Another
EFCC operative, Bala Mohammed, corroborated this statement, saying that Mr.
Abdullahi made his original statement freely and was not harassed or
pressured into doing so.
In
light of these facts, CSNAC has therefore urged the EFCC to reopen its
investigation against Mr. Umar.
"Considering
the testimonies of your operatives as reported above, CSNAC is demanding your
commission's urgently reinvestigation in this matter and subsequent prosecution
of Mr. Danladi Umar where his culpability is established as asserted by your
detectives in the trial of Mr. Umar's Personal Assistant," CSNAC said
saharareporters
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