The guardian of Nigeria’s Code of Conduct allegedly became its most brazen violator — and a business centre receipt may be the paper trail that proves it.
New details emerge as staff accuse the Chairman of altering documents following the first publication of misconduct allegations.
KEHINDE ADEGOKE unearths.
Mainasara Umar Kogo, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), allegedly wrote a formal leave-of-absence request to the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), just twelve days after being sworn into office. He processed the correspondence through a commercial business centre instead of official channels. This method appears to be a deliberate attempt at concealment, TheDiggerNews.com can report.
The allegation is part of a broader pattern of misconduct, now documented in a confidential staff memo dated March 6, 2026. This memo, addressed to President Bola Tinubu, first surfaced in a SaharaReporters report. It has since generated new and explosive developments. These include staff allegations that Kogo attempted to alter documents hours after the original publication, escalating what began as an administrative irregularity into something much more serious.
THE OATH AND THE LETTER
Kogo was sworn in by Chief Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun at the Supreme Court Complex in Abuja on October 8, 2025. Twelve days later — on October 20, 2025 — he allegedly used official CCT letterhead to write to the NCCE, his previous employer, where he had served as Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, requesting leave of absence to handle a higher national assignment while simultaneously preserving his employment security at that institution.
Routing that correspondence through a commercial business centre, rather than the official CCT registry, changes an administrative question into an allegation of concealment. Official correspondence of a federal tribunal chairman does not pass through a business centre by chance.
THE CONSTITUTIONAL DIMENSION
If established, the conduct would constitute a direct violation of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers embedded in the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria — the very instrument Kogo’s tribunal exists to enforce.
The Code prohibits a public officer from holding concurrent incompatible public offices or drawing double emoluments from the federal treasury without lawful authority. The allegation that Kogo remained on the NCCE payroll after his swearing-in as CCT Chairman — while simultaneously drawing his tribunal salary — is precisely the kind of conduct the Code of Conduct Tribunal was created to adjudicate.
The irony is not lost on the staff who filed the memo, nor on the Nigerian public, that an anti-corruption tribunal chairman stands accused of the very violations his institution was established to punish.
A PATTERN — NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT
The leave letter allegation is not the only one. The confidential staff memo documents a broader pattern of alleged misconduct under Kogo’s chairmanship. This includes the employment of his wife and other relatives at the CCT, the hiring of a Finance Director currently under EFCC investigation, and the unilateral award of contracts in disregard of financial regulations.
Staff have been categorical in their assessment. The lack of integrity in the way Mainasara Kogo runs the Code of Conduct Tribunal, they stated, is incompatible with the expectations of the head of an anti-corruption tribunal.
THE DOCUMENT ALTERATION ALLEGATION — A NEW AND EXPLOSIVE DEVELOPMENT
The most alarming development in this story emerged after the first publication of misconduct allegations. Following that report, aggrieved CCT staff accused Kogo of attempting to misrepresent the facts in his public response—and went further, alleging that he committed forgery and document alteration within hours of the original publication in a bid to cover his tracks.
Staff specifically alleged that Kogo hastily processed and approved a resignation letter dated October 14, 2025, for his wife, Zainab Aliyu. She had been employed at the tribunal on Grade Level 08, Step 2, with an appointment letter dated June 16, 2025. This move appeared to halt her salary trail on April 22, 2026, the day after the first publication.
Staff insists that Aliyu has remained on the tribunal’s payroll since July 1, 2025, and has continued to receive salaries through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System from August 2025 to date, with an initial annual consolidated salary of ₦1,512,756.00.
If the document-alteration allegation is established, it would constitute a criminal act committed in real time — in direct response to accountability journalism.
KOGO’S RESPONSE — AND WHAT IT DOES NOT ADDRESS
Kogo has described the broader allegations against him as blunt lies and misconceptions. He has, however, not addressed the specific allegation that he remained on the NCCE payroll after his swearing-in as CCT Chairman. That silence on the most material question is itself significant.
Neither the CCT Chairman nor the National Commission for Colleges of Education has publicly confirmed whether any leave-of-absence application was received. They have not confirmed whether his employment or salary status at the NCCE was maintained beyond his swearing-in date. No confirmation has been given about whether such correspondence was processed outside official channels.
THE QUESTIONS THAT DEMAND ANSWERS
TheDiggerNews.com demands prompt responses from all parties addressed below and will publish every reply received without delay.
To Mainasara Umar Kogo: Did you write a leave-of-absence letter to the NCCE on October 20, 2025 — twelve days after your swearing-in as CCT Chairman? Was that letter processed through a commercial business centre? Did you remain on the NCCE payroll after October 8, 2025? If so, for how long — and were you drawing concurrent salaries from both institutions?
To the NCCE: Did you receive a leave-of-absence request from Mainasara Umar Kogo on or around October 20, 2025? Was his employment and salary status at the NCCE maintained after his swearing-in as CCT Chairman on October 8, 2025?
To the Code of Conduct Bureau: Has the CCB been made aware of these allegations? Does the Bureau intend to investigate whether the CCT Chairman has violated the Code of Conduct for Public Officers as enshrined in the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution?
EDITORIAL POSITION
This is a story about institutional integrity at the highest level of Nigeria’s anti-corruption system. The Code of Conduct Tribunal exists for one purpose: to hold public officers accountable to the Constitution’s standards of conduct.
When the chairman of that tribunal stands accused of the very violations it was created to punish — and when those accusations are followed by allegations of document alteration carried out hours after first publication — the Nigerian public is entitled to full, transparent answers.
TheDiggerNews.com urges all relevant parties to provide clear, transparent answers—and will pursue this investigation until they do.
TheDiggerNews.com requests prompt responses from CCT Chairman Mainasara Umar Kogo, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, and the Code of Conduct Bureau. All replies will be published in full. This investigation is ongoing.