Court dismisses FG appeal against Orubebe's conviction reversal

The Supreme Court has dealt a blow to the Federal Government's efforts to uphold the conviction of former Niger-Delta Minister, Godsday Orubebe, over alleged violations of the Code of Conduct for public officers.

The appeal, labeled SC/680/2017, sought to challenge the June 14, 2017 judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, which overturned Orubebe's conviction on October 4, 2016, by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for breaching the Code of Conduct for public officers.

The Federal Government had accused Orubebe of failing to declare a property at Plot 2057, Asokoro District, Abuja, in any of the forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) during his tenure as a minister.

However, Orubebe vehemently denied the allegation, asserting that he had sold the property before assuming office and therefore had no obligation to declare it.

In a landmark judgment delivered on Friday, February 16, 2024, a five-member panel of the apex court unanimously ruled that the appeal against Orubebe was legally flawed.

The lead judgment, authored by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba but read by Justice Emmanuel Agim, highlighted the Federal Government's failure to obtain prior leave from the court before filing the appeal.

The court emphasised that the appeal was rendered incompetent due to the government's failure to adhere to the procedural requirement of seeking prior leave.

Consequently, the Supreme Court proceeded to dismiss the appeal, delivering a significant victory for Orubebe and casting doubts on the validity of the government's case.