Danladi Umar, chairman of the
Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), says he is not answerable to any institution
aside the presidency.
According to PUNCH, he said this
while responding to a petition against him by the Incorporated Trustees of the
Centre for Justice and Peace Initiative, a non-governmental organisation.
Umar said he and members of the
tribunal are not judicial officers, hence they cannot be subjected to
disciplinary actions by the National Judicial Council (NJC) or the Federal
Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
In the petition signed by Grace
Wogor, the group asked the FJSC to take legal actions against the CCT chairman over
an abuse of court processes for granting the order to suspend Walter Onnoghen,
former chief justice of Nigeria (CJN) without due process.
In a letter dated February 6,
2019 to the acting chairman of the FJSC, Umar responded that he didn’t breach
the judicial oath as members of the CCT only take official oaths and not
judicial oaths during inaugurations.
The CCT chairman said he granted
the ex parte order because it was within his power, adding that he would not
comment further on the matter, to avoid subjudice, since it was already before
the appellate court.
“With regard to the prayer of the
petitioner for an appropriate sanction against the chairman, it is important to
note that the chairman and members of the tribunal, not being judicial
officers, are not constitutionally subject to any disciplinary proceedings by
either the National Judicial Council or the Federal Judicial Service Commission
but the Presidency,” Umar wrote.
“The petitioner alleged that
judicial oaths were breached and that the National Judicial Council should
consider appropriate sanctions. It is to be noted that the chairman and members
of the Code of Conduct Tribunal are not judicial officers.
“This is predicated on the fact
that the chairman and members of the tribunal, during swearing-in, only
subscribe to official oaths and not judicial oaths. Therefore, not being a
judicial officer, I did not subscribe to judicial oaths as alleged.”
Umar reportedly attached a letter
dated May 18, 2015 signed by Mahmud Mohammed, former CJN and chairman of the
NJC, which stated that members of the CCT should not be referred to as justices
because they are not judges.
A round of applause to the vibrant chairman of CCT. Keep it up.
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