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Tayo Busayo, Abuja

 

The House of Representatives yesterday passed for second reading a bill seeking to prevent a sitting judge from appearing before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

 

The ongoing amendment is essentially to avoid a repeat of a controversial ex parte order issued against former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen by the chairperson of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari, premised on the ex parte order suspended Onnoghen in January, 2019.

 

But a bill sponsored by Solomon Bob (PDP, Rivers), seeks to amend sections 20 and 24 of the principal Act to protect judicial officers from arbitrary prosecution and removal from office.

 

Section 20 is amended to read, “There is hereby established a tribunal to be known as the Code of Conduct Tribunal (in this Act referred to as “the Tribunal”) which shall be a superior court of record with exclusive jurisdiction to try offences under this act.”