The Northern Youths Council of Nigeria (NYCN), has joined those calling for the removal and prosecution of the embattled Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Danladi Umar, following his recent assault of a security man at a shopping plaza in Abuja.
On Monday, March 29, Umar was caught on video assaulting the security guard later identified as Clement Sargwak, an employee of Jul Reliable Guard Services Limited at Banex Plaza, Abuja, for allegedly telling him (Umar) that he had wrongly parked his vehicle.
In an attempt to justify the assault, the CCTspokesman, Ibraheem Alhassan, in a press statement, said Umar was rather the victim in the case and that a bunch of ‘Biafra Boys’ had attacked the CCT boss.
With several groups, lawyers and human rights activists calling for Umar’s dismissal and prosecution, the NYCN has also added its voice in condemning the act of Umar who is a highly placed law officer in the country.
In a statement signed by its President, Isah Abubakar, and made available to Ripples Nigeria on Monday, the NYCN expressed its disappointment at the generalization and profiling of a section of the country and the use of “Biafran Boys” to describe Nigerians who are going about their lawful businesses.
The statement reads:
“The Northen Youth Council of Nigeria condemns in totality the acts of Justice Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), following a viral video where he is seen assaulting a security guard at the Banex Plaza in Abuja.
“Such atrocious act coming from a highly placed officer of the law is not only barbaric but very unfortunate.
“To make matters worse and more condemnable is the CCT spokesman trying to justify the attack on the young man for only doing his duties.
“Another most unfortunate move was by tagging the crowd ‘Biafra Boys’, thereby demonizing a section of the country, something that is capable of stirring further division in the country so that he would escape public scrutiny and the consequences of his action.
“We have every reason to believe that anybody from Eastern Nigeria that appears before the CCT can’t get justice, following the Biafran mindset he holds against them.
“The NYCN, therefore, calls for Danladi Umar to resign from his position as the CCT chairman. If he fails to do that, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari to remove him immediately.
“We also appeal to the Inspector General of Police to immediately arrest and prosecute him for assaulting a law-abiding Nigerian on his duty post.
“We also call on the presidency to, as a matter of urgency, replace Umar as the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal if he fails to resign voluntarily.
“We also call on the National Assembly to stop appropriating money to the CCT if Umar fails to resign and the presidency decides to retain him.
“We are also mobilising our members in preparation for a grand protest if the above demands are not met.”