The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, on Friday, November 20, reportedly received a triple attack from government officials following his trial at the code of conduct tribunal.
The Nation reports that the inspector general of police, Solomon Arase, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the attorney general of the federation, Abubakar Malami, have warned the Senate president not to politicise his trial at the tribunal.
The trio criticised the Senate president’s claim that his trial was politically motivated and advised him to channel his strength towards defending the charge levelled against him instead of alleging political witch-hunting.
In a counter affidavit which the attorney general, the EFCC and Arase filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja in response to a new suit by Saraki, they denied being motivated by any political consideration to initiate the 13-count false asset declaration charge against Saraki at the CCT.
They and the director of public prosecution of the federation, Mohammed Diri, and Muslim Hassan, the deputy director in the federal Ministry of Justice, said that the Senate president’s trial was propelled by the outcome of a joint investigation carried out by the EFCC, the Department of State Services (DSS), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) between 2003 and 2015.
According to them, the investigation showed that Saraki had lied in the information he gave on the CCB forms he completed between 2003 and 2011 in Ikoyi and Ikeja, Lagos state, as he used third party companies which he had interests in with the intention of hiding his assets.
They listed the companies as Tiny Tee Limited, Vitti Oil Limited, Skyview Properties Limited and Carlisle properties. The AGF, EFCC, IGP, Diri and Hassan further stated that Saraki also lied in his claim that an official of the federal Ministry of Justice, Bulus Micheal, disclosed to him that his trial was politically motivated. They said there is no official of the ministry that answers to such a name.
“The charges preferred against him before the CCT were based on the conviction that a prima facie case was disclosed after investigation and not on any political consideration. The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 10th and 11th respondents (AGF, EFCC, IGP, Diri and Hassan) are not politicians and they have no interest in who becomes the Senate President.
“The 1st, 2nd, 4th, 10th and 11th respondents do not take instructions from any politician, but are public officers and public offices, who are only interested in the performance of their statutory and constitutional duties.
“No one has made or is making any effort to trump up allegations against the applicant, but the charges that were preferred against him were preferred upon being satisfied that a prima facie case was disclosed against him,” they said.
The AGF, the EFCC and the IGP denied the Senate president’s claim that his rights were being violated with his trial at the CCT, pointing out that the charges were validly proffered against him.
On October 30, the Court of Appeal in its judgement upheld the CCT’s position that it has the jurisdiction to try the Senate president following the charges levelled against him. In its notice of objection, the trio challenged the court’s jurisdiction to hear the Senate president’s new suit, saying the reliefs he was requesting in the fresh suit are already in a similar suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/775/2015, which he earlier filed before the court, and was recently assigned to Justice Evoh Chukwu of Court 8 for hearing.
It was reported that the Senate president in the fresh suit is asking the court to stop all the respondents, comprising the CCT and CCB from continuing his trial on the grounds that they are violating his rights.
Meanwhile, Sahara Reporters reported that the supreme court judge, Justice John Fabiyi, who headed four other judges in ordering the stoppage of Saraki’s trial, is expected to retire in two weeks’ time.
Source: Naij.com
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