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Tempers flared at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) today with chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Umar, asking security to throw out Raphael Oluyede, one of the lawyers of Senate President Bukola Saraki, for talking back at him.
Umar also dismissed an application by Saraki asking him to withdraw from his trial.
Speaking on the application, the CCT judge said:
“This motion filed by a mere busybody legal practitioner is not accepted by this tribunal.
“Members of the inner bar, you are to guide him. How can you allow such a rubbish thing from him?
“This motion is of no consequence. As far as this tribunal is concerned is thrown away.”
The Cable reports that a verbal melee had ensued when Oluyede asked the tribunal to give him room to speak on the application.
But Umar overruled his request and ordered him to sit down.
Oluyede refused to obey the order, a shouting match then started.
In the heat of the argument, an angry Umar ordered police officers at the tribunal to throw his “challenger” out.
The courtroom immediately broke into loud murmurs, and tension was palpable. However, the presence of security men stopped the situation from degenerating any further.
In the application filed by Oluyede, the senate president asked Umar to disqualify himself from the case on the grounds that he was biased.