Danladi Umar (born 19 August 1971 in

Bauchi Bauchi (earlier Yakoba) is a city in northeast Nigeria, the Administrative center of Bauchi State, of the Bauchi Local Government Area within that State, and of the traditional Bauchi Emirate. It is located on the northern edge of the Jos Plateau ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

) is a Nigerian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

from

Bauchi State Bauchi State (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a state in the North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered by Kano and Jigawa to the north, Taraba and Plateau to the south, Gombe and Yobe to the ea ...

in northeastern

. Prior to becoming Chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) of Nigeria, he was a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and a Chief Magistrate in

, Nigeria. Appointed at age 36 to the CCT as acting chairman, Danladi Umar went on to become the youngest chairman of the CCT four years later. The

National Judicial Council (Nigeria) The National Judicial Council (NJC), is an executive body established by the Federal Government of Nigeria in accordance with the provisions of Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to protect the Judiciary of Nigeria from the whims a ...

as well as Federal Judicial Service Commission recommended him to President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

, who then appointed him to the position of the CCT .

Early life and education

Danladi Yakubu Umar was born in

on 19 August 1971. He is a

Fulani The Fula, Fulani, or Fulɓe people ( ff, Fulɓe, ; french: Peul, links=no; ha, Fulani or Hilani; pt, Fula, links=no; wo, Pël; bm, Fulaw) are one of the largest ethnic groups in the Sahel and West Africa, widely dispersed across the region. ...

by tribe. He studied law from the

University of Maiduguri The University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) is a Federal higher institution located in Maiduguri, the capital city of Borno State in northeast Nigeria. The university was created by the federal government of Nigeria in 1975, with the intention of its b ...

. He was called to the bar in 1992.

Career

After completing his studies, he started private practice in the chambers of Ayinde Sani and Co, Ibrahim Umar and Co and Kanu Agabi and Associates. He later joined the Federal Civil Service as Senior Legal Officer,

Nigerian Federal Ministry of Justice The Federal Ministry of Justice is the legal arm of the Federal Government of Nigeria, primarily concerned with bringing cases before the judiciary that are initiated or assumed by the government. The headquarters of the organisation are located i ...

. He also held appointment as Assistant Legal Adviser in the Federal Capital Territory and Culture and Tourism.

Chairman Of The Code Of Conduct Tribunal

At the age of 36, Danladi Umar was sworn in as an acting chairman of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal ("CCT"), the adjudication unit of the Code of Conduct Bureau established under the

Law of Nigeria The Law of Nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 May 1999. The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law of the country. There are four distinct legal system ...

. On July 11, 2011, he was appointed as the Chairman of the CCT, replacing his predecessor Justice Murtala Adebayo Sanni who died on January 24, 2011. He is the youngest person (age 40 years) to ever hold the office of chairman of the CCT. He was sworn-in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Aloysius A. I. Katsina-Alu at the Supreme Court alongside two other new tribunal members, retired Justice Robert Isaac Ewa Odu and Barrister Atedze William Agwaza, making up the three members of the CCT tribunal.

Trial of the Senate President of Nigeria

On September 18, 2015, Danladi Umar made legal history in Nigeria by becoming the first judge in the country to issue an arrest warrant against a sitting senate president of Nigeria,

Bukola Saraki Abubakar Bukola Saraki, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, (born on 19 December 1962) is a Nigerian politician. He was the 13th President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2015 to 2019 and Chair of the 8th Nigeria National Assembly. He was ...

. His action against the third citizen of the country was unprecedented.

Arraignment of 6 Ex-Governors

On November 16, 2015, Danladi Umar had issued warrants for the arraignment of six former governors for falsifying their properties and personal wealth in their assets declaration forms, an action that is punishable under Nigerian laws.

Assassination attempt

A deadly armed ambush by heavily armed assassins targeted Danladi Umar on Friday 28 June 2013. On his way to Bauchi for an official assignment, Umar's convoy was attacked by armed gunmen on the Keffi-Gitata Road in

Nasarawa Nasarawa is a Local Government Area in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Nasarawa, located at 8°32'N 7°42'E, with a population of 30,949 (as of 2016). The local government area has an area of 5,704 km and a populat ...

State. Ibraheem Al-Hassan, the Head of Press and Public Relations of the tribunal, stated that the security personnel guarding Danladi Umar engaged the gunmen in a fierce firefight, killing one of the assassins and wounding several others, who escaped. Ibraheem suspected corrupt politicians were behind the assassination attempt, accusing some implicated politicians "''whose cases are pending before the judges to be mischievous, especially as the 2015 elections draw nearer''."

Personal life

Danladi Umar comes from Toro local government area of Bauchi state and is married with children.

Controversy

Assault on guard

On March 29, 2021 Umar allegedly assaulted a security guard at a plaza. According to reports the Chairman of the

Code of Conduct Tribunal In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication c ...

arrived a shopping plaza to repair his phone, on arrival there was disagreement between him and the security guard over parking space before he supposedly assaulted the guard. According to publication by

Premium Times ''Premium Times'' is a Nigerian online newspaper based in Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory. It was launched in 2011. The online medium is notable for investigative journalism and Reports among other fields. Awards and nominations In 2013 ...

Umar was caught on camera "slapping and kicking" the guard. The

Nigerian Bar Association The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of all lawyers admitted to the bar in Nigeria. It is engaged in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. T ...

has called for his resignation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Umar, Danladi 1975 births People from Bauchi State University of Maiduguri alumni Nigerian judges Government College, Ibadan alumni Nigerian Fula people University of Maiduguri faculty 20th-century Nigerian lawyers Living people