Another accused standing trial before the Code of Conduct Bureau, Rasheed Taiwo Owolabi, has asked the embattled Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, to disqualify himself from the panel that will try him.
Owolabi, a retired Customs Officer, based his argument on Umar’s alleged involvement in a N10 million bribery saga.
He said Umar in 2012 once demanded a bribe of N10 million from him to pervert the cause of justice in a criminal matter filed against him (Owolabi) by the Federal Government.
In a motion on notice filed by his counsel, Festus Keyamo, the applicant said he reported Umar to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which led to his arrest and interrogation.
Owolabi said he will not get fair trial and justice from Umar, having implicated him in the bribery saga and which led to the ongoing trial of his Personal Assistant, Ali Gambo Abdullahi, for criminal offence at an Abuja High Court
Specifically, Owolabi alleged that the CCT boss had become biased against him for
dragging him (Umar) to the EFCC over the bribery allegation.
Owolabi is billed to appear before the tribunal on Friday on the false declaration of asset charges slammed on him since June 6, 2012.
He is praying that the charge be stuck out for want of diligent prosecution and for the likelihood of bias against him.
The motion was predicated on five issues.
These include that during the pendency of his trial, he made several allegations of graft against the CCT chairman, which led to the trial of his Personal Assistant in respect of the allegation.
He insisted that it has become legally impossible for the CCT Chairman to adjudicate over the matter because of a real likelihood of bias by Umar against him.
In a three-paragraph affidavit in support of the motion, the applicant claimed that in the course of his trial, he had reasons to raise allegations of graft against the CCT boss.
Owolabi averred that in the course of investigation by the EFCC, Abdullahi admitted in his statement that he collected certain sums of money from the applicant as inducement and that he handed over the money to the CCT Chairman.
The deponent claimed that based on the EFCC findings, a coalition of civil rights groups under the auspices of the Registered Trustees of the Mission for Peace and Development Initiative filed a court action at the Federal High Court seeking an order of mandamus from the court to compel the Attorney General of the Federation to file a criminal indictment against the CCT boss.
The applicant therefore asked Umar to disqualify himself from the CCT panel billed to try him on the ground that he (Applicant) will not get fair trial and justice from any trial conducted by Umar.

Source? http://theeagleonline.com.ng/another-accused-asks-cct-chairman-to-disqualify-himself-over-n10m-bribery-saga/

This is the shameless accuse who tried to pervert justice by colluding with the PA to Justice Umar now calling the judge to disqualify himself? After he was caught to have paid money into the P. A account to bribe the judge,had no single evidence to link the judge to his criminal action with the P.A, and now when he's being tried to face the law, he now comes round to blackmail the judge?
The judge should go ahead and hear his case and sentence him to jail, if he's not satisfied, he has the prerogative of appeal.This madness has got to stop!
This Nigerian Judicial system is like a comedy.