FG loses as s’court voids conviction of Orubebe over ‘false asset declaration’

The supreme court has upheld the nullification of a judgment which convicted Godsday Orubebe, a former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, over false declaration of assets.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday, a five-member panel of the apex court dismissed the appeal by the federal government seeking to set aside the verdict of the court of appeal. 

The appellate court had discharged and acquitted the former minister of the alleged offence.

On October 4, 2016, Danladi Umar, chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), convicted Orubebe for allegedly failing to declare plot 2057, Asokoro, Abuja.

The government filed a one-count charge of false asset declaration against him.

The former minister had told the tribunal that the property was no longer his when he went into public service. He said he had sold the property to his creditor; hence he saw no need to declare what was not his.

However, the tribunal convicted him on the premise that the title deeds of the property still bore his name.

‘INCOMPETENT APPEAL’

In June 2017, a three-man panel of judges of the appeal court, led by Mohammed Abdul Aboki, voided the conviction, describing it as a miscarriage of justice.

The court held that it was clear that Orubebe sold the property even if the title deeds still had his name on them; hence there was no need for him to have declared it.

The court also discharged and acquitted him of the charge.

Not satisfied, the federal government appealed the judgment.

In the lead judgment written by Garba Mohammed, but read by Emmanuel Agim, the supreme court held that the federal government’s appeal against Orubebe was incompetent.

The panel held that the government acted in breach of the supreme court rules, when it failed to obtain permission before it lodged the appeal on “mixed law and facts”.