On Wednesday, November 20, the Nigerian Senate officially removed Danladi Umar from his position as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
The decision followed a vote in which two-thirds of the Senators supported the removal, meeting the required threshold for such a resolution. Senate Leader Michael Opeyemi Bamidele had sponsored the motion, which invoked Section 157(1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) for Umar’s removal.
In his motion, Bamidele cited several allegations of corruption and misconduct against Umar, noting that the Senate had received numerous petitions regarding his actions. He also pointed out that the Senate’s Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct, and Public Petitions had invited Umar for multiple investigative hearings.
The motion further accused Umar of being absent from office for over a month without permission or formally recusing himself from his duties. These issues, along with others, prompted President Bola Tinubu to nominate Mr. Abdullahi Usman Bello as Umar’s replacement.
After a debate, Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio called for a vote. The result saw 74 Senators in favor of Umar’s removal, while 10 opposed it. Akpabio then directed the Clerk to formally communicate the Senate’s resolution to the presidency as required by law.
