In a three-page letter to the CCB by a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Onitsha Branch and activist, Chuka Obele-Chuka dated March 22, 2016, the Chief Judge was accused of concealment of the ownership of a sprawling property at Trans Ekulu, Enugu, worth over N100 million.
The noose has further tightened around the neck of the Chief Judge of Enugu State, Justice Innocent Azubike Umezulike, we can reliably report.
This followed a petition lodged against the Chief Judge with the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, accusing the jurist of “corrupt enrichment and false declaration of assets”.
In a three-page letter to the CCB by a former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Onitsha Branch and activist, Chuka Obele-Chuka dated March 22, 2016, the Chief Judge was accused of concealment of the ownership of a sprawling property at Trans Ekulu, Enugu, worth over N100 million.
In the petition, a copy of which was made available by reliable sources at the CCB, the petitioner said: “I write to bring to your attention a case of corrupt enrichment and false declaration of assets by Hon. Justice Innocent Azubike Umezulike, the Chief Judge of Enugu State.
According to the petitioner, “Hon. Justice Umezulike was called to the Nigerian Bar in or about 1980. After that, Justice Umezulike became a lecturer at the Anambra State University of Science and Technology, (now Nnamdi Azikiwe University). He was then a man of humble status.
“In 1993, Hon. Justice Umezulike was appointed a judge of the High Court of Enugu State. By the law, Justice Umezulike on the assumption of office filled an Asset Declaration Form. Since then, Hon. Justice Umezulike has periodically filled Assets Declaration Forms and filed the same under oath with the Bureau.
“In 1999, Justice Umezulike acquired a parcel of land known as Plot 546 Trans Ekulu, Enugu. This was vide an Irrevocable Power of Attorney dated 8th day of January 1999. A copy of the said Irrevocable Power of Attorney registered as No. 57 at Page 57 in Volume 1450 of the Lands Registry; Enugu is herewith attached and marked ANNEXURE-1.
“Further, after the acquisition of the land, the Hon. Chief Judge of Enugu State, Hon. Justice Innocent A. Umezulike proceeded to erect very high walls around the land and after that erected two buildings on the land. The property is worth, by my estimation, about N100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira). Find herewith copies of photographs pictures of the said property taken recently. They are marked ANNEXURE – 2. In or around the time of the acquisition of the land Hon. Justice Umezulike was sitting as a judge of the Failed Bank Tribunal in Lagos. “
“Permit me to state that nowhere in the various forms for Declaration of Assets which Justice Innocent Umezulike filed under oath between 1993 and 2001 did he include the aforementioned property. Not even in the one he filed this year! “
Mr. Chuka went further to state that a search report issued on March 21st, 2016 from the Ministry of Lands and Urban Development, Enugu, Enugu State, showed that Justice Umezulike is still the owner of the said property.
“It is obvious that Hon. Justice Umezulike concealed the purchase and ownership of the property and refused to declare it as one of his assets as required by law because the monies used to acquire the land and erect the gigantic structures thereon were ostensibly proceeds of corrupt enrichment. I, therefore, believe that the said land was not acquired nor the buildings erected from His Lordship’s legitimate earnings as it cannot be fairly attributable to his income at the time, explaining, perhaps, its non-inclusion in his Assets Declaration Forms.
The petitioner said that there was good reason to investigate the Chief Judge for corrupt enrichment and pointed out that the concealment of the ownership of this property by the Chief Judge or his refusal to declare the property on his Assets Declaration Forms amounted to offences under Section 15(1) and (2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap. C15 Laws of the Federation. Accordingly to the petition, since the declarations were made on oath before a High Court Judge, any indictment on the concealment allegation, would naturally expose the Chief Judge to an indictment for perjury.
Concluding Mr. Chuka demanded an expedited investigation of the complaints and hoped that the complaints would be referred to the Code of Conduct Tribunal for the trial of the Chief Judge stating “ Nobody should be above the law. Not even a Chief Judge”.
It would also be recalled that the Police and the National Judicial Council (NJC) have been investigating the Chief Judge over alleged forgery and professional misconduct following the directive by the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) in a letter with Ref No: HAGF/ENUGU/2000/I and dated February 4, 2016, also directed the Inspector General of Police to investigate the conduct of Justice Umezulike and one Mr. Vincent Aneke, the Director of Litigation at the Enugu State High Court over allegation that they both altered a court order in Suit No. E/170/76 dated June 25, 1985.
The letter, which was signed by the Special Assistant to the minister, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, also directed the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate Aneke for corruption and abuse of office.
The National Judicial Council had a few months ago issued a query to Justice Umezulike over alleged misconduct which requested him to respond to another complaint alleging that Justice Umezulike refused to comply with a directive of the NJC to transfer some cases from his court to another judge after he was accused of bias in the handling of those cases.”
Sources close to the embattled Chief Judge say that he has written a statement to the Police where he denied forging the court order and claimed that since the Judge who originally delivered the judgment had retired he was entitled to draw up a court order and sign it even though he was not the judge who delivered the judgment.