The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by the Federal Government against the reversal of the conviction of former Niger-Delta Minister, Godsday Orubebe, over alleged violation of the Code of Conduct for pubic officers.
The appeal, marked: SC/680/2017, was against the June 14, 2017 judgment 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 accused of failing to declare a property at Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, in any of the forms which he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) while serving as a minister.
Orubebe denied the allegation, claiming to have sold the property before becoming a minister and therefore found no need to declare it.
In a judgment on Friday, February 16, 2024, a five-member panel of the apex court held that the appeal against Orubebe was incompetent.
In the lead judgment prepared by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba, but read on Friday by Justice Emmanuel Agim, the court found that the federal government failed to obtain the prior leave of the court before filing the appeal.
The court held that since the prior leave of court was not obtained as required, the appeal was incompetent and proceeded to dismiss it.
