CCT Chair, Umar, defends assault of policeman at Abuja plaza

Danladi Umar, the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), has explained why he physically assaulted a security guard in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

This comes after a viral video showed Umar arguing with and violently kicking the guard over a parking lot issue at Banex Plaza, Wuse 2.

See the video that elicited social media reactions below…

Video showing the chairman Code of Conduct Tribunal, assaulting a Security guard at a Shopping Complex in Abuja yesterday. pic.twitter.com/1xmBMfiEHz

— UG™ (@Crisugo44) March 31, 2021

Reacting to the video in a statement on Tuesday, CCT spokesperson Ibraheem Al-Hassan, in an error-strewn statement, said the security man was rude and had threatened Umar.

Al-Hassan said the “altercations started over a parking lot which chairman met vacant, and it was directly opposite a shop where he wanted to make a purchase and to fix his phone.”

“When the young security guard sighted him, he ordered that the chairman should not park his car in that particular space.”

Al-Hassan said the security personnel could not provide a reasonable explanation as to why Umar could not park in the empty space.

He said although the tribunal chairman did not identify himself, “the boy was rude in his approach and threatened to deal with chairman if he refused to leave the scene.”

“Again, if the chairman had gone there to cause trouble or intimidate someone, as suggested, he would have gone there in his full official paraphernalia. But he went there alone with his younger brother,” the statement reads.

“The policemen seen in the video clip were not the chairman’s police team. They were policemen operating around the plaza, who at first instance intervened before the arrival of the police team from Maitama police station.”

Narrating further, he said a mob in the plaza started throwing machetes and sharp objects at Umar’s car, “which led to a deep cut and dislocation in one of his fingers, causing damage to his car and smashing his windscreen.”

“At the point he attempted to leave the scene, these same miscreants ordered for the closure of the gate, thereby assaulting him before the arrival of police team from Maitama police station,” Al-Hassan added.