The Court of Appeal has failed the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki as he struggled to stop his trial by the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged corruption.
The superior court, today, asked the Tribunal to go ahead with the trial because there is no legal restriction on it to do so.
Dr. Saraki had ran to the Court of Appeal to ask that his trial by the Tribunal for failing to fully declare his assets as the Governor of Kwara State be stopped.
But in a judgement today, Justice Moore Adumen said that the trial of Saraki by the Tribunal is in order, arguing that the Tribunal was in the first instance misled into believing that the Federal High Court once ordered the stoppage of Saraki’s trial.
The Court of Appeal also held that by virtue of Section 174(1) and (2), the absence of an Attorney General of the Federation does not stop Saraki’s trial.
The court further ruled that the section justifies the filing of the charges against Saraki by M.S. Hassan, a staff of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
The senate President had been arraigned on September 18, over allegations of corruption and false assets declaration and was granted bail on self recognition.
Below are some of the assets which senate president allegedly declared falsely:
Property on Musa Yar’Adua Street, Victoria Island, owned by his company, BAS Trading, was valued at N700 million
A plot of land in Lekki, he acquired in his name in February 1992, was valued at N7 million.
A plot in Ajah he got in November 1992 had a value rate of N5 million;
The property at 42 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi owned by Skyview Properties Ltd was valued at N750 million
Another property at 19 Ruxton road, Ikoyi, owned by Skyview Properties Ltd was valued at N500 million;
The property at 62 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi also owned by Skyview was valued at N100 million;
Carlisle Properties Ltd, one of his company owned the property at No 15A & 15B McDonald Road, Ikoyi worth N160 million.
The property in Maitama District in Abuja was N160 million.
Saraki pleaded ‘not guilty’ to a 13-count charge leveled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on September 22.
The lead prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs began by tracing the history of the case at the court of appeal.
He also lamented how the appellate court fixed October 19 for the judgment, but was told that it was not ready when they arrived on the day for the judgment.
After the tribunal and the senate president’s counsels presented their arguments, the tribunal asked them to pick date for resumption of the hearing and they agreed that hearing should resume between November 5 and 6 in order to await the outcome of the decision of the Court of Appeal. [myad]
