The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has reopened the case of assault levelled against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar.
Umar was seen in a viral video in 2021 assaulting one Clement Sargwak at the Bannex Plaza in the Wuse 2 area of Abuja.
In seeking redress, the victim filed a petition against Umar through his lawyers to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to investigate it.
The CCT chairman attended the first sitting on the case and had shunned honouring subsequent invitations thereafter.
The Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, who addressed journalists on the matter on Wednesday, said the case against Umar had been reopened.
He said, “There was a petition against the CCT chairman that he assaulted a young Nigerian, Clement Sargwak. The Senate believes that nobody is above the law. Both the young and the old voted for us to represent their interest in the National Assembly.
“The CCT Chairman infringed on the right of a young Nigerian who had no money to approach the court, brought his petition to the Senate. Rather than appearing before our committee, Umar went to court claiming that the Senate had no right to put him on trial.
“The Senate suspended the hearing on the matter till the outcome of the judgment. The High Court has now ruled that the Senate has the right to continue the case. The Senate decided to reopen the case because it was a declarative judgment. He was to appear before us today but instead came with court papers claiming that he had appealed the judgment.”
Akinyelure however said, Umar, through his lawyer, said he would never appear before the Senate Committee because the matter is already before the Court of Appeal.
“Danladi Umar is trying to fool the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and we will never allow our name to be dragged in the mud. Umar has a lot of things to hide, he does not want to face the press because he knows that he has infringed on the rights of a Nigerian,” he added.
