He said, in a fresh move to halt the trial, that the charges were filed in violation of due process as well as his right to fair hearing.
He said that the charges could not be valid since they were filed in the name of the Attorney-General of the Federation even as he complained that he was denied fair hearing as neither the CCB nor the Attorney-General of the Federation confronted him with any infraction in the four assets declaration forms.
He argued that he declared his assets first on assuming office as Governor of Kwara State in 2003 and on completing his term in 2011 and that he subsequently made another asset declaration and submitted the form to the CCB upon his reelection in 2007 and on ending his second term in 2011.
He said that had he been informed of any inconsistencies in his asset declaration forms, he would have corrected them.
“I am not aware of any petitions challenging my declarations, and the bureau (CCB) has never drawn my attention to any. I would promptly have corrected or explained (the reason for) any alleged discrepancies or inconsistencies in my asset declaration had my attention been drawn to them.”
Senator Saraki prays in the application for an “order quashing and/or striking out the charges contained in Charge No: CCT/ABJ/01/2015 by the complainant/respondent against the applicant.
“An order pursuant to Paragraph 1 above, discharging the defendant/applicant herein.”
In an affidavit, which he personally deposed to in support of his fresh application seeking the quashing of the charges against him at the CCT and discharging him of the alleged offences, the Senate President said: “the facts relating to these matters are no longer fresh in my memory quite apart from the fact that I have lost many of my records pertaining to them.”
Saraki’s fresh application, which was dated and filed on March 4, 2016, seeks to halt his trial that had been validated by the Supreme Court through its judgement delivered on February 5, 2016.
He was arraigned on 13 counts of false asset declaration before the CCT on September 22, 2015.
A seven-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, had in its judgement, dismissed Saraki’s objection to his trial.
The apex court, in the said judgement, affirmed the competence of the 13 counts filed against him and the jurisdiction of the tribunal to hear the case.
In the charges instituted by the Federal Government, Saraki was accused of making false asset declaration in his forms submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau on assuming office and leaving during his two terms as Governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
The Senate President, who was said to have submitted four asset declaration forms, allegedly “corruptly acquired many properties while in office as Governor of Kwara State, but failed to declare some of them in the said forms earlier filled and submitted.”
He also allegedly made an anticipatory declaration of assets upon his assumption of office as governor, which he later acquired.
Saraki was also accused of sending money abroad for the purchase of property in London and maintaining an account outside Nigeria while serving as governor.
Meanwhile, his new lead counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), who led five other Senior Advocates of Nigeria and about 60 other lawyers, is also challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the case against his client.
The lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) has however described the motion as “a deliberate attempt to stop the trial from going on.
“The defendant (Saraki) keeps saying that there is no case against him and that he is being persecuted; why doesn’t he let the trial start so that the whole world can see the persecution?” [myad]
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