The FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Wednesday, granted bail to Danladi Umar, the former chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal. He is facing charges of receiving bribes from contractors while he was in office.
Judge Peter Kekemeke set the bail amount at N100 million. He also required a surety with proof of property in Abuja.
The judge dismissed the objection from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against granting bail. He said the EFCC “did not produce strong reasons why bail should not be granted” to Umar.
Although the EFCC charged Umar with fraud involving N15 million, the court set his bail at N100 million.
On July 9, the EFCC arraigned Umar for accepting bribes from contractors who worked on projects for the Tribunal. The contractors sent money to Umar’s wife and paid school fees for his children at Baze University, according to the EFCC.
Umar denied the allegations. The judge ordered him to be held in custody until the bail hearing.
During the bail hearing, Umar's lawyer, Edward Sunday, asked the court to grant bail. He said Umar cooperated with the EFCC during their investigation and always showed up when invited.
Sunday also mentioned that Umar did not skip bail after receiving administrative bail from the EFCC. However, the EFCC's lawyer, Christopher Mshelia, opposed the bail request. He pointed to the seriousness of the case and the possible punishment if found guilty.
Mshelia argued that the witnesses worked under Umar, so there was a chance he could interfere with them. The judge then asked the EFCC, “Did he run? Did he abscond?”
Mshelia replied, “No.” He explained that during the investigation, it was unclear if it would lead to charges, so the situation was different.
The judge noted he had considered both sides. He stated that a defendant is innocent until proven guilty. He added that unless the prosecution can prove that the defendant would interfere with evidence or intimidate witnesses, the defendant has the right to bail.
Since the prosecution did not provide strong reasons against bail, the judge granted it to Umar. He postponed the case until October 29 for the trial to begin.
The EFCC claims Umar accepted bribes from contractors who were involved in projects for the Tribunal. The contractors reportedly sent money to his wife and covered school fees for his children.
Kurchmives International Limited, a subcontractor under Momanaf Global Ventures Limited, sent N5 million to Umar’s wife, Zulaihatu Umar, in her Zenith Bank account. Also, Portal Realities Limited, a sister company of JTF Global Links Limited, sent N6 million to Mrs Umar’s account.
The prosecution also stated that Portal Realities Limited paid over N4 million for Umar’s children, Faiza and Yakubu, at Baze University. The EFCC said his actions broke Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
This section makes it a crime for public officers to use their position for personal gain. The offence could lead to seven years in prison if convicted. Umar denied all the charges.
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