Ex-CCT Chairman Danladi Umar Demanded ₦6m For Wife, ₦4m For Children’s Fees, Contractor Testifies In ₦15.5m Fraud Trial

ABUJA, NIGERIA — A government contractor has detailed in a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court how the former Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, allegedly used his position to extract millions of naira for his family’s personal expenses.

Oluwatayo Solomon Fashogbon, the Chief Executive Officer of Portal Realities Limited and JTF Global Links Limited, appeared on Thursday as the first prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Umar is currently facing a four-count corruption charge involving nepotism, abuse of office, and conferring corrupt advantages upon himself to the tune of ₦15.59 million.

Testifying before Justice U.P. Kekemeke in Maitama, Fashogbon revealed that his company was awarded a ₦140 million contract by the CCT in September 2021 to digitalise the tribunal’s archival records.

According to the witness, the extortion began shortly after the government released contract funds. Fashogbon testified that on January 23, 2024—just two days after receiving the fourth instalment of the contract payment—Umar called him directly and instructed him to deposit ₦6 million into a Zenith Bank account belonging to his wife, Zulaihatu Danladi Umar. Fashogbon complied, executing the transfer through a Portal Realities Limited corporate account.

The financial demands allegedly continued into late 2024. Fashogbon told the court that a CCT Deputy Director, Akinola Akanji, approached him with an additional request from the chairman for “assistance” with his children’s university education.

To maintain the contract relationship, Fashogbon stated that he paid roughly ₦2 million each for Umar’s son, Yakubu, and daughter, Faiza, directly into the corporate bank account of Baze University, Abuja. These transactions were reportedly funded via a Jaiz Bank corporate account.

During the hearing, the EFCC prosecution counsel, Christopher Mshelia, successfully tendered the original contract award letter, which Justice Kekemeke admitted into evidence as Exhibit A.

Umar, who has pleaded not guilty to all charges brought under the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, looks on as the trial continues. The court is expected to hear further witness testimonies as the prosecution builds its case against the former anti-graft tribunal boss.