The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by the Federal Government against the reversal of the conviction of former Niger-Delta Minister, Godsday Orubebe on allegation of breach of Code of Conduct for Pubic Officers.
On Friday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government’s appeal was incompetent.
In the lead judgment, prepared by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba but read on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court determined that the appellant failed to obtain the court’s prior leave before filing the appeal, which was based on mixed law and facts.
The court ruled that the appellant’s failure to obtain prior leave of court, as required, rendered the appeal ineffective. It proceeded to dismiss the appeal.
The federal government’s appeal, marked: SC/680/2017, was against the June 14, 2017 decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which set aside Orubebe’s conviction on October 4, 2016, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, for breach of Code of Conduct for public officers.
The federal government had arraigned Orubebe before the CCT on a one-count charge of false asset declaration.
He was accused of failing to declare a property at Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, in any of the asset declaration forms that he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while serving as a minister.
In his defence, Orubebe claimed that the property was no longer his as at the time he went into public service.
Orubebe stated that he had sold the property and saw no need to declare what was no longer his when he became a minister.
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On October 4, 2016, the CCT convicted Orubeber, finding that he violated the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
The tribunal, led by Mr. Danladi Umar, found him guilty of failing to declare the aforementioned property.
The CCT ordered that the property be forfeited to the Federal Government, which Orubebe challenged in the Court of Appeal.
Orubebe appealed the decision to Abuja’s Court of Appeal.
On June 14, 2017, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal ruled, among other things, that the CCT erred in convicting Orubebe.
In the lead judgment, Justice Abdul Aboki stated that the case before the tribunal was not about the declaration of title, but a false declaration of assets.
Justice Aboki added that the unregistered instrument of transfer of the property was admissible in proof of the payment of the purchase price by Divention Properties Ltd which acquired the property.
The judge further said the appellant (Orubebe) was not expected, in the eye of the law, to declare a property he had parted with.
Justice Aboki noted that the issue of non-registration of title, in respect of the said undeclared property, was not raised and argued by parties, but raised suo motu (on its own) by the tribunal.
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