President Bola Tinubu has once again appointed Dr. Mainasara Umar Kogo as Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) without consulting the National Judicial Council (NJC) or the Federal Judicial Service Commission (FJSC).
According to PRNigeria, Tinubu’s new appointment of Kogo was announced in a letter dated January 20, 2025, signed by Senator George Akume, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
The appointment’s effective date was also pushed back to November 27, 2024, raising more issues regarding transparency and constitutional compliance.
The announcement comes seven months after former presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale declared in July 2024 that Dr. Mainasara Kogo would take over the job, despite the fact that the substantive chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, had not yet reached the retirement age. The move received widespread condemnation as unconstitutional and illegal.
The National Assembly’s attempt to remove Justice Umar, which involved erroneously naming someone else apparently at the direction of the Presidency, was also litigated before Justice J.K. Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja. In the litigation, President Tinubu, Attorney-General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio were identified as defendants, and their separate defense statements were submitted, rendering any further action void.
Several well-known legal experts and Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), including Professor Mamman Lawan Yusufari, former Dean of the Faculty of Law at Bayero University Kano; Professor Yemi Akinseye George, Executive Director of the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies; and Dr. Wahab Shittu, have strongly condemned the government’s actions as unconstitutional. They contended that Section 15 of the Fifth schedule to the constitution statesthe pivotal roles of the NJC andFJSC in appointing the chairman and members of the CCT.
