A mild drama ensued at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Thursday when the tribunal Chairman, Danladi Umar, declined to hear the motion filed by counsel of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki.
Umar dismissed the application asking him to disqualify himself from the case.
“That motion as far as the tribunal is concerned is of no consequence; not worthy to be entertained and is hereby thrown away,” Umar said.
Mr. Raphael Oluyede, Saraki’s lawyer, brought to the attention of the court, a motion filed on Wednesday, seeking the CCT boss to disqualify himself from participating in the trial based on alleged bias.
According to the motion, the continued presence of Umar on the panel of Tribunal offended 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”.
However, when Oluyede made an attempt to bring up the motion, Justice Umar repeatedly yelled at him to “Sit down.”
After Oluyede demanded to be heard, Umar, upset by the revelations, called for police officers to throw out the counsel to the Senate President. However, Oluyede sat down on arrival of the police officers and maintained that he would not be intimidated Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, intervened and pleaded on behalf of the lawyer.
Click to watch how Justice Umar Sends Saraki’s Lawyer out of Tribunal
