The Code of Conduct Tribunal yesterday ordered the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to appear before it in June to defend charges of non-declaration of assets brought against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Retired Justice Constance Momoh, while dismissing Ribadu’s preliminary objection, said the argument by his counsel, Shola Egbeyinka, to the fact that the tribunal was not properly constituted with two members out of three prescribed by law sitting on the case could not avail the former anti-graft boss.
She said the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria allows two persons to form a quorum – just as three persons are allowed to sit in the Court of Appeal or five justices of the Supreme Court - to sit on appeal.
The tribunal, the judge said, was properly constituted with two out of three members and any objection to the tribunal sitting on the case on the basis of quorum could not succeed and, in the instant case, Ribadu would be tried for contravening the law.
On the second leg of the objection which stated that the charge against him was incompetent because it was brought to the court long after he had left office and purportedly dismissed from the police in line with the interpretation of the constitution that the tribunal can only try a person holding public office, the tribunal chairman said once the provision of the code of conduct is contravened, it would not matter whether the accused was out of office at the time the charge is preferred against him.
The charge before the tribunal, she stated, was triable and it would be tried and since Ribadu had told the world that he declared his assets, it would serve his interest to appear on the next sitting of the court slated for June 10.
Justice Momoh said in the event of his absence on that date, she would order the prosecution to prove its case against Ribadu.
The ordeal of Ribadu worsened when the Police Service Commission (PSC) ordered that Ribadu and 139 police officers be demoted because their promotion did not follow due process. In the case of Ribadu, he was demoted by two steps.
The action was widely condemned. The Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, reacting to the demotion, asked why the Inspector-General of Police, Mike Okiro, was not affected if really the reason for the demotion was that the affected officers were “promoted out of rank”.
“It is on record that he (Okiro) was promoted from Commissioner of Police (CP) to Deputy Inspector-General (DIG) without ever being an Assistant Inspector-General (AIG). Even his confirmation as IG bypassed (Ogbonnaya) Onovo who was senior to him,” Afenifere said.
Apart from Ribadu, the former Federal Capital Territory Minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has been charged to court by the EFCC for allegedly allocating various plots of lands to his family members.
The former minister will be arraigned, albeit in absentia, next Wednesday on an eight-count charge of corruption before the Federal High Court 2 in Abuja.
The commencement of his prosecution is expected to mark the beginning of the extradition process.
The Chairman of EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, recently indicated the readiness of the commission to initiate extradition process of the former minister to enable him answer charges of corruption levelled against him.
For el-Rufai to be extradited, the commission needs to establish a case against him, which would require his presence to defend.