Embattled
Senate President, Bukola Saraki has asked Danladi Umar, chairman of the Code of
Conduct Tribunal (CCT), to withdraw himself from his trial for alleged false
declaration of assets, according to latest reports from TheCable.
In
an application filed by Raphael Oluyede, Saraki’s lawyer, and seen by TheCable,
the senate president asked Umar to disqualify himself from the case on the
grounds that he was biased.
The
application, which was filed on Wednesday at the CCT, read in part: “An order
disqualifying/recusing the Honourable Justice Danladi Umar (Chairman of this
tribunal) from sitting on the panel of this tribunal for hearing and
determination of the charges filed in these proceedings for the reason that his
continued presence on the said panel of this tribunal offends the provisions of
section 36 (1) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria which
prescribes that ‘In the determination of his civil rights and obligations,
including any question or determination by or against any government or
authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable
time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such
manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.’
It
also read: “A likelihood of bias by the tribunal against the appellant…
undermines and withdraws from the tribunal, the jurisdiction which it is
normally endowed….”
In
March, Saraki had filed an application asking the judge to declare he had no
jurisdiction to hear the matter. But Umar dismissed his application and
ordered the commencement of trial.
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