By Efosa Osagie
The end may not have been heard of the allegations of official graft being levelled against the present Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa. A petition dated 10th June 2026 and submitted to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission(ICPC) was sighted by this reporter.
The Petition, which was submitted on behalf of the Forum of Edo Professionals in Africa & the Diaspora (FEPAD) by one Pastor John Orhue, accused Okungbowa of failed/false asset declaration, budget padding, contracts inflation and abuse of office.
On false asset declaration, the Petitioners alleged that Okungbowa as Acting Chief Judge made an asset declaration that did not cover the asset he acquired after he became substantive Chief Judge of Edo State. They stated “when he was appointed as the substantive Chief Judge of Edo State sometime July 2023, he failed, refused and neglected to submit a fresh asset declaration form to the Code of Conduct Bureau within the prescribed period stated by the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act. We believe there are many discrepancies in his asset declaration that must be investigated. False statements to officers of the Commission and other Public Officers (like those of the Code of Conduct Bureau) constitutes a gross violation of Section 25 of the ICPC Act”.
On budget padding/contracts inflation the petitioners accused Okungbowa of submitting appropriation estimates for a project which was not intended for execution. He was also accused of converting the money meant for new official vehicles by supplying second-hand ones. The petitioners stated “Justice Okungbowa fraudulently inflated and approved the contract for the purchase of official vehicles for both old and newly appointed Judges. Instead of buying new vehicles as stated in the bidding documents, with the criminal connivance of his preferred bidder, he supplied well-refurbished vehicles sold to his agent by political appointees of the Godwin Obaseki (PDP) administration of Edo State, who illegally went away with their official SUV Mitsubishi and Toyota Vehicles”.
On abuse of office, the petitioners also allege  Okungbowa as Chief Judge of Edo State played a role in the impeachment of Comrade Philip Shaibu as deputy governor of Edo State in 2024. They stated “Justice Okungbowa sometime in March 2024 abused his office as Chief Judge of Edo State in an incident where he disobeyed a subsisting court order to fulfill a political end.Â
They further alleged that on the 25th of March 2024, Justice Okungbowa received an unspecified amount of money from Godwin Obaseki, the immediate past governor of Edo state, for the purpose of setting up a panel to recommend the impeachment of Comrade Philip Shaibu as Deputy Governor of Edo state. A court order issued by the Federal High Court Abuja was served on Justice Okungbowa and the Chairman of the panel on the 26th and 27th of March 2024, respectively, but in spite of being served with the order Okungbowa still went ahead to inaugurate the impeachment panel, which he personally selected and appointed.Â
According to the petitioner, these acts of abuse of office directly violates Sections 8,12,17,18 and 19 of the ICPC Establishment Act”.
The petitioners in asking for the commission to activate its statutory powers stated that “Justice Daniel Okungbowa is not one of the public officers protected under Section 308 of the Nigerian Constitution. By this petition, he is presumed to have committed several offences under the guise of the public office he currently occupies”.
Reacting to the Petition and speaking on behalf of those in defence of Okungbowa, the Benin Summit Group through Earl Osaro Onaiwu described the petition as an attempt to discredit the Chief Judge by politicians and pressure groups. In a statement via an online news outfit Midwest Herald Onaiwu stated that “we will continue to protect the interest of credible Benins both in the public and private sector”. All attempts to get Justice Okungbowa on phone proved abortive.
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