Wonders shall never end as a critical anti-corruption agency; the Code of Conduct Bureau has a non-lawyer as its Director Of Legal Services.
The Code of Conduct Bureau is a body set by law and included in the fifth schedule of the constitution.
Checks however showed that the head of its legal department, Mrs Ighodalo is a graduate of Arts studies without any training in the legal profession.
While it is not clear how such anomaly happened in a critical federal agency, it was learnt that the director has been overseeing critical legal issues and offering “legal advice”
Records showed that due to her lack of legal training, the bureau has run into many legal crisis and activities contrary to public service rules.
It was learnt that the said Director just authorized a memo to CCB staff instructing them to disobey lawful directives of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
In a case in which the CCB is a defendant, the said Director openly endorsed a memo calling on CCB staff to support the opposing body that took the Bureau to court.
This and many other developments are said to have created huge gap in the capacity of the Bureau to investigate cases and implement its mandate.
“It is true she is not a lawyer. Her qualification is in the Art field. The former Board of the Bureau made her the Director of Legal Services. Many of us within are not comfortable with a non-lawyer heading a legal department”, an insider said.
Meanwhile, moves are ongoing by the office of SGF to normalize the situation and ensure internal reforms through the Acting Secretary of the Bureau, Mrs Folashade Kolawole.
