Ex-CCT Chairman Remanded Over Alleged ₦13.93m Corruption

A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Maitama, Abuja, has remanded former Code of Conduct Tribunal Chairman Danladi Umar at the Kuje Correctional Centre after he was arraigned on a four-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and corruption.

Umar was brought before the court on Thursday, July 9, 2026, by the Federal Government over allegations that he unlawfully obtained financial benefits from contractors who handled projects for the tribunal while he served as its chairman.

He pleaded not guilty to all four counts.

The prosecution alleged that Umar received a total of about ₦13.93 million through different transactions linked to contractors awarded projects by the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

According to the charge, the former tribunal chairman allegedly caused ₦5.5 million to be paid into his wife’s bank account in October 2021 by a subcontractor involved in the painting of the tribunal’s headquarters in Abuja.

Prosecutors further alleged that on Thursday, January 25, 2024, another contractor handling the digitisation of the tribunal’s records paid ₦6 million into the same account.

The Federal Government also accused Umar of directing another contractor to pay ₦2.43 million as tuition fees for his daughter’s education at Baze University, Abuja, alleging that the payment amounted to an undue advantage obtained through his public office.

The offences were brought under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.

During the proceedings, prosecuting counsel Christopher Mshelia urged the court to remand the defendant, informing the judge that the prosecution had only recently been served with the defence’s bail application and required time to file a response.

Counsel to Umar, however, requested that the bail application be heard immediately, arguing that it had already been properly filed before the court.

In his ruling, Justice Peter Kekemeke declined the request for an immediate hearing of the bail application and ordered that Umar be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending its determination.

The judge subsequently adjourned the matter until Wednesday, July 15, 2026, for the hearing of the bail application.

One of the charges read in court alleged that Umar, while serving as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and Chairman of its Tenders Board, “did confer upon yourself a corrupt and unfair advantage” by causing ₦5.5 million to be paid to his wife’s account by a subcontractor executing a tribunal project.

The case marks a significant development in Nigeria’s anti-corruption landscape, as the former head of the tribunal responsible for trying public officers over breaches of the Code of Conduct now faces prosecution on allegations of abusing the same office he once occupied.

The matter is expected to resume on Wednesday, July 15, when the court will consider Umar’s application for bail before proceeding with further hearings in the trial.