The Federal Government’s appeal against the reversal of former Niger-Delta Minister, Godsday Orubebe’s conviction for breaching the Code of Conduct for Public Officers has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.
On Friday, the highest court’s panel of five members delivered a judgment stating that the appeal filed by the Federal Government was deemed invalid.
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.
