A high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has granted N100 million bail to Danladi Umar, former chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Peter Kekemeke, the trial judge, granted the bail application moved by Sunday Edward, counsel to Umar, on Wednesday.
Kekemeke ruled that the former CCT chairman must produce one surety in the same amount, with proof of property ownership in Abuja.
The trial judge said the prosecution did not prove that the defendant would interfere with the proceedings or intimidate witnesses.
The former CCT chairman is to remain at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the fulfilment of the bail conditions.
The case was adjourned until October 29 for the commencement of trial.
Last Thursday, Umar was arraigned before the court on a four-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency accused the former CCT chairman of conferring an undue advantage on himself while serving as head of the tribunal.
The EFCC alleged that on January 25, 2024, the defendant used his wife’s account to collect N6 million from a contractor who handled the digitisation of the CCT’s records.
“That you, Danladi Yakubu Umar, while serving as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal and Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal Tenders Board, on or about the 5th day of October, 2021, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did confer upon yourself a corrupt and unfair advantage by causing the sum of N5,500,000.00 (Five Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira only) to be paid to your wife, Zulaihatu Danladi Umar, through her Keystone Bank Account No. 6031167105 by Kurchmives International Limited, a sub-contractor under the contract awarded by the Code of Conduct Tribunal to Momanaf Global Ventures Limited for the internal and external painting of the headquarters of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and punishable under the same section,” one of the counts reads.
Umar pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
In July 2024, President Bola Tinubu appointed Mainasara Umar Kogo as chairman of the CCT to replace Umar.
In November 2024, the House of Representatives and the Senate asked the president to remove Umar as CCT chairman.
