By Mercy Peter
The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Justice Mainasara Ibrahim Kogo Umar, has disclosed that no corruption cases before the Tribunal should exceed six weeks.
He stressed that as a court of summary jurisdiction, there should be no reason for cases to be delayed at the Tribunal.
According to him: “This Tribunal operates as a summary jurisdiction. Before assigning hearing dates, I require lawyers to file all written submissions in advance. After reviewing them, hearings focus on adoption and cross-examination, and judgments are delivered promptly. Ideally, no case should last more than six weeks.”
He also disclosed his plans to transform the Tribunal into a Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Court.
Umar noted that a bill to that effect is already before the National Assembly.
The bill, which he said has passed second reading, if passed into law, according to him will act as the special court for prosecution of all anti-corruption cases including electoral cases.
He said: “One major vision is to transform the Tribunal into the Code of Conduct and Anti-Corruption Court, in line with Section 15(5) of the Constitution, which mandates the State to abolish corrupt practices and abuse of office. A bill to that effect has passed second reading at the National Assembly. If passed, anti-corruption agencies would prosecute relevant cases here.”
He also revealed that the Tribunal is undergoing some reforms aimed at restructuring the institution by expanding it from three departments to thirteen.
This is as he charged the Code of Conduct Tribunal to see how to dispose of all old cases beyond three years.
