We need more judges to prosecute corruption cases – CCT chairman

Justice Danladi Umar, chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), has requested for additional judges in the bid to effectively dispense with several corruption cases before the tribunal across the country.

Umar says the tribunal requires nine more judges in addition to the three members, as presently constituted, to effectively prosecute the corruption cases before it in earnest.

Recall that Bukola Saraki, the Senate president, is currently standing trial before the tribunal on a 13-count charge of false declaration of assets while serving as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

Godsday Orubebe, former minister of the Niger Delta, is also standing trial over alleged falsified asset declaration while in office in the last administration.

Umar disclosed that the tribunal has the statutory powers to try all public officials at all levels, including the President, Vice President, Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Umar, who spoke during an interactive session with the House Committee on Financial Crimes, monitored by BusinessDay, also solicited for the National Assembly’s support in ensuring adequate budgetary provision for this year (2016).

From the total sum of N1,914,822,067 requested by the tribunal for year 2016, the sum of N784,319,234 was approved by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning, lower than the sum of N806,989,422 appropriated for 2015 fiscal year.

He said: “the tribunal needs to have an enlarged composition of members to expeditiously deal with the trials before it,” stressing that the tribunal as currently constituted, is incapacitated to adjudicate the chunk of corruption cases before it.

Umar observed that the expansion of the members of the tribunal from three to 12 was captured in the aborted Constitutional Amendment carried out by the Seventh Assembly, to which former President Goodluck Jonathan declined assent.

He explained that the tribunal, which has offices in the six geopolitical zones of the country, requires additional manpower to effectively discharge its constitutional responsibilities.

Speaking on behalf of the committee, Aminu Shehu Shagari, chairman House Committee on Judiciary, assured that the issues would be addressed in the forthcoming Constitutional Amendment.

Shagari expressed support for the ongoing war against corruption and observed that “CCT is not occupying the rightful place in the dispensation of justice,” in terms of funding.

In a related development, Sam Saba, chairman Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), called for the intervention of the House over the significant reduction in the N11,410,720,740 proposed budget for 2016 which was reduced to the N2,224,598,099 ceiling given by the Federal Ministry of Budget and Planning.

Saba added that the money for promotion and annual increment whenever needed by the Bureau, according to the circular on personnel cost estimates, would be “taken care of under the Service Wide Vote.”

Members of the House Committee on Financial Crimes requested for the locations of items seized by the Bureau.

The lawmakers however queried the subhead for train acquisition, which the CCB said was part of the template given to the Bureau by the Budget office.

In his remarks, Kehinde Odeneye (APC-Ogun) demanded for details on the proposed purchase of CCTV hidden cameras, mobile phone jammer, sony digital investigator recorders, as well as the rationale behind the proposed N83.500 million for “production of assets declaration packages and field verification by staff in the headquarters and state offices and additional N83.500 million for monitoring and evaluation under the capital projects.

 

KEHINDE AKINTOLA