The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, has directed that the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, will henceforth proceed day to day from today (Monday) until the conclusion of the case.
Bukola Saraki
He said the trial will begin 10am and end 6pm everyday.
Umar, who gave this directive at the resumed hearing in the case on Monday, said his decision to conduct the trial day to day was in line with the provisions of section 396(6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
He gave the directive in response to a request for one hour stand-down by the lawyer who represented the prosecution on Monday, Mr. Gabriel Esegine.
Esigine told the tribunal that the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs asked for the stand-down to enable him to appear briefly before the Court of Appeal in Abuja.
But in response, Umar, who was not satisfied with the request for stand-down warned that the tribunal would no longer wait for anybody.
He said, “By virtue of 396 (6) the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, criminal trial of a defendant after arraignment shall proceed day to day.
“This is what the tribunal intends to do. I’m saying this to both the prosecution and the defence, this tribunal will not wait for anybody.
“We will start by 10am till about 6pm till the conclusion of the case.
“For the benefit of those who want to pray we will give a break for about 15 minutes. By 4pm, we will give another 15 minutes break to enable people to stretch their legs.”
The lead defence counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), however joined the prosecution in pleading with the tribunal to grant the stand-down.
The CCT chairman then reluctantly stood the case down till 12pm.
But as of the time of filing this report at 11.11am, Jacobs had arrived the tribunal.
The trial is to continue today with the testimony of the first prosecution witness.
During the short court proceedings, Saraki, decked in a white traditional attire with a cap to match, sat in the dock, while a number of senators sat in the audience.q
• Why we can’t intervene in Sen. President’s ordeal
If embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki, is indeed innocent of the corruption charges leveled against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), he should embrace the trial and prove his prosecutors wrong, says the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Bukola Saraki
In a chat with The Guardian, yesterday, the National Vice Chairman of the party, Chief Hillard Eta, dismissed suggestions that the party should have moved in to rescue the Senate President.
Eta argued that doing so would amount to violating the principles on which the party was founded.
He said: “Why would the party do that when it came on the platform of the rule of law, that everybody is equal in the eyes of the law? Are we saying that some are more equal than others? Are we living in Animal Farm? Are you saying that because he is the Senate President, he should not have an opportunity of absolving himself from allegations? Is that what you are saying?”
Earlier, in an interview he granted one of the nation’s online publications, party chairman, Chief John Oyegun, had ruled out the possibility of any political solution to Saraki’s tribulation, stressing President Buhari will not be drawn into the matter either.
He is quoted as having said: “What political situation in a legal matter? Are the judges politicians? The President is certainly not the type who will interfere in a judicial matter. I think we know him very well. Everybody must know him. Things must be done normally. And that is part of the change mantra; we must play by the rule, so that we don’t truncate processes.
“People don’t seem to internalise what change is. If the President says, ‘court, free that man’, the same President can say, ‘court, imprison that man’. Is that the Nigeria you want? No! Change means allowing the law to take the proper course. I can tell you the President won’t interfere. The President is straight and firm in all facets.”
Asked why APC national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is not being hounded by the CCT, Eta said: “Tinubu was not taken to the tribunal as a member of the APC. We have never had a situation where our members have been given a soft landing by the government that is in control.”
On whether he thinks the Saraki saga is an indication of infighting within the APC, Eta replied: “Why do we always view conspiracy theory about matters that have absolutely nothing to do with conspiracy? The Code of Conduct has accused Saraki of violating the provisions of the law. What is incumbent on Saraki is go to the court and absolve himself, prove his case, prove his innocence. All of these conspiracy theories would do no good to the delivery of justice in Nigeria. If it is conspiracy, the court will arrive at that conclusion. But if it is a fact that what he has been accused of is indeed correct, then the law should be no respecter of anybody.”
Toeing the same line, APC chieftain, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, argued that interference would run contrary to the ongoing anti-graft war of the Buhari administration.
Okechukwu, who is the party’s spokesperson for the South East caucus spoke on the heels of calls by the deputy national publicity secretary, Mr. Timi Frank, on need for the party to save Saraki from trial at the CCT.
Meanwhile, House of Representatives member, Mr. Zakari Mohammed, yesterday, faulted media reports that he orchestrated the recent power outage at the sitting of the CCT during the trial of Saraki.
The lawmaker, in a statement, described the publication as not only false but also outright balderdash, sheer rubbish and a deliberate attempt to tarnish his hard-earned reputation.
Mohammed, who is a member of the APC from Kwara State, wondered why he should be blamed for the outage, even when it is commonly known that he has no stake in the nation’s power sector.
He said: “To set the records straight, I had no hands in the outage at the CCT. I have no relationship with any staff or technicians at the tribunal, which would have made me to influence the outage.
“I also do not work with or own shares in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company to have wielded contacts to disrupt power supply to the tribunal. I have never met with technicians in charge of the alternative source of power for the tribunal.”
Senate President Bukola Saraki has expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday, which dismissed his appeal to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), over alleged false assets declaration, while the Governor of Kwara State.
Bukola Saraki
Following the lead judgment taken by Justice Walter Samuel Onnoghen, which held that the CCT was properly constituted to exercise jurisdiction over Saraki’s trial, Saraki through his Special Adviser on (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu said “after listening to the ruling of the Supreme Court in the appeal he (Saraki) filed to challenge the process of arraigning him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, he expresses disappointment over the Judgment of the apex court in the country on the six grounds of his appeal.
“He however, will like to put it on record that the facts of the substantial matter are not before the Supreme Court since the apex court was only invited to rule on some preliminary issues in the process of commencing the trial.
“The Senate President believes he will have his day in the court to prove his innocence of the charges preferred against him during the trial proper.
“Dr. Saraki will like to thank everyone who has expressed support for him from the beginning of the case. He assures everyone that at the end of the day truth will prevail and justice will be served.”
The Acting Director of Defence Information, Brig.-Gen. Rabe Abubakar, has said the directive to officers of the Nigerian Army to declare their assets is informed by the need to preserve the integrity of the military and check corruption among the officers.
Abubakar said this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday.
The Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Kukasheka, had, earlier in a statement on Thursday, said the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, had directed all officers of the Nigerian Army, who had not declared their assets, to do so immediately.
He added that Buratai had declared his own assets on his appointment as Commander, Multinational Joint Task Force in May, 2015 and also on his appointment as Chief of Army Staff in July, 2015.
Kukasheka stated, “This directive is in order, considering the fact that all military officers have Presidential Commission and are public servants, as well as subject to both civil and military laws.
In addition, given the current drive of the country for probity and accountability, the Nigerian Army should not only key into such move but should be one of the key drivers of such laudable project.”
Abubakar, while justifying the directive of the Army chief, said, “This is a system which is built on discipline. This is a system which is built on integrity; so, any questionable character should be stopped. It doesn’t need to happen before we start shouting. All the loopholes should be blocked.”
When asked if the directive would be extended to other services, he said, “We should always take things as they come. As I earlier said, the military is one family. The military is one entity, the military is one brotherhood. So whatever we do, we share sentiment among ourselves. Most importantly, we want to, as much as possible, preserve the integrity for which the military is known over the years.”
He added that when such orders were given, there must be compliance, adding that compliance was in the interest of the nation.
On its part, the Nigeria Immigration Service said its personnel declared their assets periodically in line with the Code of Conduct for public officials.
The NIS Public Relations Officer, Ekpedeme King, stated that every immigration officer adhered to the CCB requirement for civil servants to declare their assets in their forms.
King said this in response to inquiries about asset declaration by NIS personnel.
He added, “We don’t need to issue fresh directives to our personnel to declare their assets because they have been doing that periodically. This is in line with the Code of Conduct for public officials and it is compulsory for all revenue generating agencies of government.”
The Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Customs Service, Mr Wale Adeniyi, could not be reached for comments on the number of officers that had complied with the asset declaration directive handed to the personnel by the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), over a week ago.
Calls and text messages sent to his phones were not responded to as of 7.40pm.
A senior official of the service, however, confided in one of our correspondents that since last week, when the directive was issued, many officers of the service had complied.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Thursday, stated, “The new Customs boss, since assumption of office, has been emphasising zero tolerance for corruption, and in furtherance of that, directed that our assets be declared.
“I want to state that since that directive was issued last week, many of our men have been complying.”
The Customs had, on Friday last week, gave its officers 14 days to declare their assets.
The police could not be reached for comment on whether the management had directed its personnel to declare their assets.
The Force Public Relations Officer, Olabisi Kolawole, could not be reached for comment as she was said to be in a meeting when one of our correspondents called her on the telephone on Thursday.
She had yet to respond to a text message sent to her mobile as of the time of filing this report.
The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau, Mr. Sam Saba, had in an interview with Saturday PUNCHlast year said, “Some of the military personnel declare but most of them are not declaring. They used to declare in the early 90s but somehow they just stopped.
‘‘Only some of them, who are service chiefs, declare, but the others don’t fill the form.”
Under the Part II of the 5th Schedule of the Constitution, public officers, required to declare their assets, include the President of the Federation, the Vice-President, the President and Deputy President of the Senate, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and Speaker and Deputy Speaker of Houses of Assembly, and all members and staff of legislative houses.
Others are governors and deputy governors, Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justices of the Supreme Court, President and Justices of the Court of Appeal, all other judicial officers and all staff of courts of law; Attorney General of the Federation and Attorney General of each state.
They also include ministers, the Inspector-General of Police, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, all members of the Nigeria Police Force and other government security agencies established by law as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Head of the Civil Service, permanent secretaries, directors-general and all other persons in the civil service of the federation or of the state.
•Ex-North-East gov flees abroad • Hidden assets of 15 other former govs uncovered
The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Umar, has signed the warrant for the arraignment of six former governors for falsifying their assets declaration forms.
Danladi Umar
The six former governors, according to investigation conducted by our correspondent, include ex-Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, and his Cross River State counterpart, Liyel Imoke.
The identities of the four others could not be ascertained at press time.
Also to face trial is a retired permanent secretary for abuse of office while a former governor from the North East is beleived to have gone on exile barely a week after the conclusion of paperworks for his trial.
Investigation conducted by our correspondent revealed that the the trial of the ex-public office holders will start any moment from now.
A source who spoke in confidence said: “The next batch for trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal includes six ex-governors and a retired permanent secretary. The former governors are from the North-Central, North-West, South-South and North-East.
“All these ex-governors will be formally notified of their pending trial next week. Some of them have got wind of it and were already scouting for the charges.
“In fact, security reports indicated that the ex-governor from the North-East got wind of his likely arraignment before the CCT and chose to go on self-exile.
“When all is set for his trial and he fails to show up, a bench warrant will be issued for his arrest and the International Police (INTERPOL) will be mandated to fish him out.”
At press time, there were findings that more than 15 former governors under-declared their assets in gross violation of their oaths of office.
“Most of these governors preferred to hide their assets but, unknown to them, their aides or aggrieved members of their cabinets or parties and short-changed business partners used to expose them,” a source in the Code of Conduct Bureau said.
The constitution says: “Subject to the provision of this Constitution, every public officer shall within three months after the coming into force of this Code of Conduct or immediately after taking office and thereafter (a) at the end of every four years; and (b) at the end of his term of office, submit to the Code of Conduct Bureau a written declaration of all his properties, assets, and liabilities and those of his unmarried children under the age of 18 years.
“The Bureau shall have power to receive declaration by public officers made under paragraph 12 of part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to this Constitution.
“Examine the declarations in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct or any law.
“Retain custody of such declarations and make them available for inspection by any citizen of Nigeria on such terms and conditions as the National Assembly may prescribe.
“Ensure compliance with and, where appropriate, enforce the provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law relating thereto.
“Any statement in such declaration that is found to be false by any authority or person authorized in that behalf to verify it shall be deemed to be a breach of this Code.
“Any property or assets acquired by a public officer after any declaration required under this Constitution and which is not fairly attributable to income, gift, or loan approved by this Code shall be deemed to have been acquired in breach of this Code unless the contrary is proved.”
“Receive complaints about non-compliance with or breach of the Provisions of the Code of Conduct or any law in relation thereto. Investigate the complaint and, where appropriate, refer such matters to the Code of Conduct Tribunal.”
But disturbed by the legal issue surrounding the constitution of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, President Muhammadu Buhari has initiated moves to put in place a full panel.
There are only two members in the tribunal instead of three recommended by 1999 Constitution.
The one-judge vacuum has made some of those arraigned to seek redress at the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court on the ground that the tribunal was not fully constituted for a proper trial.
Three nominees have been recommended out of which the President will appoint one as a member of CCT. This will put paid to any complaint about the constitution of the tribunal.
“The three nominees are undergoing security checks after which the President will appoint one of them, “ a government source said last night.
Section 15 of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to 1999 Constitution says: “There shall be established a tribunal to be known as Code of Conduct Tribunal which shall consist of a chairman and two other persons.
“The chairman shall be a person who has held or is qualified to hold office as a judge of a superior court of record in Nigeria and shall receive remuneration as may be prescribed by law.
“The chairman and members of the Code of Conduct Tribunal shall be appointed by the President in accordance with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
“The National Assembly may by law confer on the Code of Conduct Tribunal such additional powers as may appear to it to be necessary to enable it more effectively to discharge the functions conferred on it in this schedule.”
Niger Delta minister under former president Goodluck Jonathan, Godsday Orubebe, is accused of failing to declare two properties he owned at the time he took office in June 2011.
Orubebe
He was also alleged to have received bribes amounting to 70 million naira ($350,000/ 328,000 euros), the Code of Conduct Tribunal in the capital,Abuja, heard.
Orubebe pleaded not guilty and the case was adjourned until November 26.
The 56-year-old caused a stir during collation of ballots after the March 28 vote, which saw Jonathan and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dumped from office byMuhammadu Buhari.
Orubebe accused Nigeria‘s then election head Attahiru Jega of being partial and selective in his handling of petitions filed by the PDP against some of the results.
He shouted and attempted a sit-in in a 15-minute stand-off captured live on television at the venue where results were being announced. Orubebe later apologised for his outburst.
Buhari and his All Progressive Congress (APC) won the vote, securing the first-ever win by an opposition party inNigeria‘s independent history.
The president has since embarked on a drive against endemic corruption that has seen a number of government ministers and senior politicians questioned about or charged with graft offences.
They include the third most-senior political figure in the country, Senate leader Bukola Saraki.
The Niger Delta is home to Nigeria‘s oil industry. The minister is in charge of development projects in the region, where most people live in poverty despite the multi-billion dollar industry.
Meanwhile, former national security advisory Sambo Dasuki on Monday called on a high court judge to order secret police to leave his house inAbuja.
Dasuki, who is facing firearms and monely laundering charges, was last week allowed to retrieve his passport to go oversees for medical treatment.
But he failed to leave after members of the Department of State Services turned up at his house and allegedly prevented him from travelling. He claims his life is under threat.
The DSS denied the claim and said its agents’ presence was linked to Dasuki’s non-appearance before a committee probing a multi-billion-dollar arms deal during his time in office.
Lawyers to Senate President Bukola Saraki walked out on the two-man panel of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja on Thursday in protest against a ruling that the trial of the helmsman of the National Assembly must continue despite his appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal which affirmed the jurisdiction of the tribunal to entertain the case.
A counsel for Saraki, Mr. Mahmud Magaji (SAN), who announced the walkout on behalf of the defence team, described the tribunal’s ruling as judicial rascality.
Other SANs in the defence team, Saka Isau and Ahmed Raji, also followed suit, as they led about 30 junior lawyers, who accompanied them to proceedings, out of the court room.
The tribunal had ruled that the prayer by Saraki’s lawyer for an adjournment could not be granted in view of the provisions of the new Administration Criminal Justice Act.
Nigerians on Friday agreed on the need by President Muhammadu Buhari’s ministers-designate to publicly declare their assets before they take the oath of office.
Ministerial list
They asked the ministers-designate to follow Buhari’s example by stating their worth in terms of money and properties, if they really believed in the President’s anti-graft war.
According to them, the declaration of assets by those appointed into public offices by Buhari was a moral necessity that should be encouraged.
The President had before his election, promised to publicly declare his asset and encourage his appointees to also do so.
He had insinuated that public declaration of assets would encourage accountability and reduce corruption in the polity.
Speaking with our correspondents on Friday, however, the Ijaw National Congress asked the President to stand by his words on the need to make the ministers declare their assets publicly.
“The ministers-designate must declare their assets publicly before they are assigned portfolios,” INC spokesperson, Mr. Victor Borubo, said.
He explained that though the constitution made the declaration of assets optional (secretly or publicly), it was morally necessary for the ministers to declare their worth publicly.
Borubo said that the ministers could be tempted to corruptly enrich themselves, adding that the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress might suffer a setback if the appointees were not made to declare their assets publicly.
He said, “It is necessary that the ministers-designate declare their assets publicly. The intention is to ensure that they are not tempted to enrich themselves in a corrupt manner.
“The ministers should not be told before they declare their assets. In fact, much will not be achieved in the fight against corruption if the appointees are not ready to follow Buhari’s example.”
Also, the President, Afonja Descendants Union, Alhaji Olola Kasumu, told one of our correspondents in Ilorin that it would not be proper if the ministers were not made to declare their assets before they took the oath of office.
“It is part of the campaign promises of the APC that its appointees and elected officials will publicly declare their assets. The much needed change will be elusive if they do not declare their assets publicly.”
The President, Civil Liberties Organisation, Mr. Steve Daniel-Aluko, stressed the benefits of declaration of assets by public officials.
Daniel-Aluko told one of our correspondents that such a decision would further demonstrate the sincerity of the current APC-led government to fight corruption.
He said, “If we understand the meaning of the change mantra, then everything should be done not only differently, but in accordance with the law. By publicly declaring their assets, the ministers would have been seen as emulating the President, who had publicly declared his own assets.”
The Coordinator, Federation of Middle Belt People, Mr. Manasseh Watyil, shared a similar view.
He said, “If we must fight corruption to a logical end, then all political appointees must declare their assets. The President has led by example. So, it is necessary that others should follow.”
The hue and cry the APC-led government is making about zero tolerance for corruption, according to the President, Trade Union Congress, Mr. Bobboi Kaigama, would be meaningless if the ministers-designate failed to publicly declare their assets.
Kaigama said, “This has been our call; the ministers-designate are Buhari’s appointees and the President has already put a template in place – like a rule of engagement. So, they have to follow suit like the President and the Vice-President have done.
“The constitution has not said that they should make it public but there is a change mantra, which means that we have a scenario where there is zero tolerance for corruption and to prove to Nigerians that we have zero tolerance for corruption, those at the helm of affairs should do like Buhari and Osinbajo have already done.”
The General Secretary, Nigeria Labour Congress, Mr. Peter Ozo-Eson, also backed the call on ministers-designate and other appointees to publicly declare their assets.
He said, “The law requires them to declare their assets but it does not say that they must do it publicly. However, even the President has, in his wisdom, decided to declare his own assets publicly. To that extent, we believe that the greater the openness in this matter, the better it is for governance generally.
“The ministers-designate ought to be encouraged to take a cue from their principal and follow suit. I don’t think that we can force them because it is not a legal requirement, but it will promote transparency if they emulate the President.”
A chieftain of the Northern Elders Forum, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, believes that declaration of assets by public officials will elicit public confidence in the leadership.
He said, “Things should be done honestly and transparently and if public declaration of assets means more public confidence and trust, so be it. So, if Buhari’s public declaration is appreciated as a public trust, why should those who are working with the President not emulate him and do the same?”
A pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, said it would be a slap on Buhari’s administration if the ministers-designate failed to see the need to declare their assets.
The Secretary of the group, Chief Sehinde Arogbofa, said, “Is there any particular person you feel should not declare his assets? If the President has said people should declare assets and if he has gone ahead to declare his own, I see no reason why any political office holder should not declare his assets.
“If you are taking up a public responsibility and the leader has publicly declared his own and you refuse to declare your assets, I think it is a slap on the leadership.”
A northern socio-political organisation, Arewa Consultative Forum, on its part said the ministers-designate should be given a stipulated time within which they should make their assets known.
ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, told one of our correspondents that the issue was not negotiable as it would enhance public confidence in the President’s administration.
Ibrahim said, “The position of ACF is that all public officers must declare their assets in accordance with the requirements of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And they should do it within the stipulated time as contained in the constitution because the constitution gives a time frame which should be complied with.”
Foremost Igbo socio-political association, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, said though ministers-designate had been confirmed by the senate, any of them who refused to declare their assets publicly should be dropped.
The president of the youth wing of the organisation, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, said any minister-designate who refuses to declare his assets publicly should be seen as corrupt and not fit to hold public office.
He said, “The view of Ohanaeze is that the ministers-designate should follow in the footsteps of the President by also declaring their assets publicly.
“Any of the ministers-designate who fails to do so should be seen as having a skeleton in his cupboard. Such a person should be seen as a corrupt person who is not fit to be in Buhari’s cabinet.”
The National President of South-South Solidarity Forum, Dr. Bassey Umoh, said ministers-designate have no reason not to declare their assets publicly since their principal had already set the pace.
He said, “If President Buhari has declared his asset, why should the ministers-designate delay? Although we have not felt the impact of the change mantra, we only hope it is not used as a political weapon.”
A lawyer and rights activist, Mr. Femi Aborisade, also stressed why those seeking public offices should declare their assets.
Aborisade said the realities of the economic distress of Nigeria today requires that only those who are prepared to publicly declare their assets and liabilities should venture close to public offices.
“Those who lack the courage should be told to remain in the private sector,” he said.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Friday dismissed the appeal by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, challenging his trial on 13 counts of false assets declaration before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
By a two-to-one split decision the three-man panel of the appeal court, held that the appeal lacked merit.
Justice Moore Adumein who led the panel and Justice Mohammed Mustapha dismissed the appeal, while Justice Joseph Ekanem in his dissenting judgement upheld the appeal and discharged the Senate President of the trial before the CCT.
The majority judgment dismissed all the six grounds of appeal by Saraki.
It dismissed the grounds that the charges were not properly served on him, that the tribunal was not duly constituted because it is comprised of two members instead of three and that absence of the Attorney-General of the Federation had rendered the charges incompetent.
But Justice Ekanem ruled that the the irregularities in the filing of the charges due to the failure of a lawyer in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. M.S Hassan, to indicate in his letter to the tribunal who authorised him to file the charges had rendered the charges incompetent.
The Federal Government, through the Code of Conduct Bureau, will arraign a former Minister of Niger Delta, Mr. Godsday Orubebe, on four counts of false assets declaration and bribery on November 9.
Orubebe, who is to be arraigned before the Justice Danladi Umar-led Code of Conduct Tribunal, was accused of failure to declare his assets at Plot 2722 Kyamu and Plot 2059 in Asokoro District both in Abuja on assumption of office as minister on September 26, 2007.
In count three, he was also accused of accepting N50m bribe from one Pastor Jonathan Alota, on September 19, 2012, for award of contract in favour of his (Alota’s) company, Chemtronics Nigeria Limited.
In count four, he allegedly accepted additional N20m bribe from Alota in 2013 for the award of a contract to Chemtronics Nigeria Limited for the construction of skill acquisition centre at Edo State for the sum of N1.8bn.
ABUJA—The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, will today, deliver judgment in the appeal seeking to quash the 13-count criminal charge pending against the Senate President, Dr. Olubukola Saraki before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT.
Bukola Saraki
The appellate court had earlier adjourned its verdict on the matter indefinitely, a situation that forced the Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal to defer hearing on the case against Saraki till November 5, to await the outcome of the appeal.
The tribunal took the decision to suspend full-blown hearing on the criminal case after the Justice Moore Adumein panel of the appeal court, on October 21, postponed its judgement without adducing any reason.
A source at the appellate court who spoke to Vanguard on ground of anonymity that day, insisted that the “eleventh-hour deferment of judgment on Saraki’s appeal”, was not unconnected with the just concluded screening of Ministerial nominees that were forwarded to the Senate by the Presidency.
Saraki is in his appeal, challenging the legal propriety of the 13-count charge that was preferred against him by the Federal Ministry of Justice.
He was among other offences, alleged to have owned and operated foreign bank accounts while being a public officer.
However, aside challenging the charge, Saraki also queried the constitutionality of the warrant of arrest that was initially issued against him by Chairman of the CCT, Justice Umar.
Besides, the embattled Senate President, through his team of lawyers led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. J.B. Daudu, SAN, wants the higher court to ascertain whether the Justice Umar-led panel subscribed to the appropriate legal procedure when it ordered him to mount the dock and enter his plea to the charge despite preliminary objections against his trial.
He raised 12 grounds of appeal against the CCT, supported by a 16-paragraphed affidavit and four exhibits.
Saraki also deposed another 17-paragraphed affidavit of urgency, wherein he urged the higher court to intervene and protect him from what he described as “a politically motivated witch-hunt”.
Out of the 12-grounds, five of them are basically seeking to invalidate the charge against Saraki.
He is begging the appellate court to suspend the proceeding of the tribunal pending the hearing and determination of his substantive appeal against the Justice Umar-led panel.
The appellate court had on October 8, okayed accelerated hearing on the matter.
Meantime, the federal Government, while urging the appellate court to dismiss the appeal, maintained that it has garnered sufficient evidence to establish that Saraki, as a public officer, acquired several assets beyond his legitimate earnings.
FG, through its lead prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, equally told the appellate court that five witnesses it lined-up against the Senate President, have all expressed their readiness to appear before the CCT tomorrow to testify and tender exhibits against him.
Among those that FG billed to give oral testimony against Saraki included the erstwhile Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and present governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.
Specifically, El-Rufai is expected to testify that he was the one that sold one of the assets that Saraki bought in Abuja, which the government alleged that he failed to list among the assets he acquired while in office as the governor of Kwara State.
The prosecuting counsel, told the appellate court that Saraki has already been furnished with all the proof of evidence against him, including copies of four separate assets declaration forms that he earlier submitted before the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB.
Therefore, FG, urged the appellate court to dismiss the appeal and order Saraki to go to the CCT and clear his name.
Saraki had through his lawyer, Mr. Daudu, SAN, argued that the CCT erred in law by going ahead with his trial despite that fact that “it was not properly constituted”.
He contended that whereas the constitution provided for a three-man panel to sit over cases brought before the tribunal, he said that only two Justices sat on September 22 when he was docked.
According to him, the composition of the tribunal was in violation of paragraphs 15(1) of the 1999 constitution, as amended.
Daudu maintained that the tribunal was wrong in assuming criminal jurisdiction against the Senate President when it was not listed in the constitution as a superior court of record.
He described the CCT as an “inferior court”, saying it does not in any way, share concurrent jurisdiction with the Federal High Court.
He therefore urged the appeal court to nullify the proceedings of the tribunal against Saraki and also set aside the criminal charges filed against him by the federal government for being illegal and unlawful.
Nevertheless, FG, bent on going ahead with the case, asked the appellate court to dismiss Saraki’s arguments as baseless and grossly lacking in merit.
Jacobs, SAN, argued that the tribunal was properly constituted and empowered to try the accused person.
He urged the court to invoke the Interpretation Act to resolve the issue on whether the two-man panel had indeed formed a quorum as envisaged by the law.
More so, the prosecuting counsel submitted that the tribunal has criminal jurisdiction hence the use of words like “guilty” and “punishment” in the law that established it.
“We urge your lordships to dismiss this appeal and order the appellate to go before the CCT and face criminal charges against him. We have gathered enough evidence to prove that he made anticipatory assets declaration”, Rotimi added.
Saraki was in the charge before the CCT, marked ABT/01/15 and dated September 11, 2015, alleged to have falsely declared his assets, contrary to the constitutionally requirement.
He was accused of deliberately manipulating the assets declaration form that he filed prior to his assumption of office as the Senate President, by making anticipatory declaration of assets.
The offence was said to have been committed while Saraki held sway as a governor.
He was also accused of breaching section 2 of the CCB and Tribunal Act, an offence punishable under section 23(2) of the Act and paragraph 9 of the said Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
FG alleged that Saraki claimed that he owned and acquired No 15A and 15B Mc Donald, Ikoyi, Lagos, through his company, Carlisle Properties Limited in 2000, when the said property was actually sold by the Implementation Committee of the Federal Government landed properties in 2006 to his companies, Tiny Tee Limited and Vitti Oil Limited for the aggregate sum of N396, 150, 000, 00.
He was alleged to have made false declaration on or about June 3, 2011, by refusing to declare plot 2A Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, which he acquired between 2007 and 2008 through his company from the Central Bank of Nigeria for a total sum of N325, 000, 000, 00.
Similarly, Saraki was said to have refused to declare No1 Tagnus street, Maitama, Abuja, which he claimed to have acquired in November 1996 from one David Baba Akawu.
Some of his alleged offence while in office as governor, which are said to be punishable under section 15(1) and (2) of the CCB and Tribunal Act, Cap C15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, were allegedly committed between October 2006 and May 2007.
His actions were classified as a gross violation of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
Saraki has since pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him.
The House of Representatives shut its plenary on Wednesday and dramatically adjourned sitting till Thursday (today).
Bukola Saraki
The House abandoned at least five motions listed on the Order Paper, as the Speaker, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, suddenly called off Wednesday’s sitting.
Dogara said he was adjourning the sitting to enable him to attend a meeting of the Council of State on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Deputy Speaker, Mr. Yusuff Lasun, who would have presided over proceedings in Dogara’s absence, is away to Geneva, Switzerland.
Under the rules of the House, only the Speaker or his deputy can preside over the plenary.
The PUNCH learnt there were initial speculations that the House shut its plenary in solidarity with the Senate, which also called off its sitting on Wednesday.
The Senate had called off its sitting in solidarity with its President, Senator Bukola Saraki.
He had appeared before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in continuation of his trial over alleged false declaration of assets.
However, in the case of the House, the absence of Lasun seemed to give “justifiable grounds” for shutting the plenary since Dogara had already explained that he (the Speaker) would be attending the Council of State meeting.
The Speaker had merely asked the clerk to present seven new bills to the House, preceding the sudden adjournment.
But, two important bills listed for debate on General Principles on Wednesday were abandoned.
One of the bills was titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend the National Industrial Court Act and for other Related Matters.”
It was sponsored by a lawmaker from Delta State, Mr. Nicholas Ossai-Ossai.
The second bill was, “A Bill for an Act to Establish the Federal College of Medical Laboratory Science, Jos, and to Provide for Courses Leading to the Award of Degrees, Fellowships, Diplomas and Certificates in Medical Laboratory Science, Biomedical Science and other Related Courses and for other Matters Connected Therewith.”
It was sponsored by a member from Plateau State, Mr. Gyang Dung.
One of the five motions abandoned was on a “Call for a New Revenue Allocation Formula.”
The motion was listed against Mr. Rotimi Agunsoye.
Another one was on “Call for the Rehabilitation of Lagos-Badagry Expressway,” which had the name of Mr. Bamgbose Joseph as the sponsor.
ABUJA—-The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, this morning, failed to persuade the Code of Conduct Tribunal sitting in Abuja to grant an indefinite adjournment on the 13-count criminal charge that is pending against him.
The Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal, while rejecting the application which Saraki made through his lawyer, Mr. Mahmud Magaji, SAN, ordered him to appear before it on November 5.
Justice Umar said the tribunal was minded to adjourn full-blown hearing on the substantive case till next month, to enable it to ascertain the outcome of the appeal that Saraki lodged before the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal.
Meantime, Saraki, who stormed the court today with 34 Senators and 50 lawyers, initially declined to mount the dock, placing reliance on the fact that a higher court is already seized with the ‘Res’ of the case against him.
He was eventually compelled to enter the dock by the tribunal at exactly 10:59am, even as the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, urged the court to as a mark of respect for judicial hierarchy, defer further proceeding on the matter for two weeks.
There were indications that President Muhammadu Buhari and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, met on Monday night over the ongoing prosecution of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, for alleged false asset declaration.
President Buhari
The meeting said to have been held late in the night.
Our correspondent learnt that Dogara had reportedly “secured a booking” to meet with Buhari at the Aso Rock Villa.
A senior official of the House told The PUNCH that the meeting was not an open affair and that nobody could gauge the mood of the President.
The official said, “I am aware that he (speaker) secured a booking to see the President this night. But, this will not be an open meeting just yet. I think he wants to first see Mr. President and inform him about the resolution of the House.
“The President’s mood will determine whether he will go on to mediate in the matter to find a political solution as advised by the House.”
The House had in a resolution passed on Wednesday, last week, asked Dogara to intervene in Saraki’s case by meeting with Buhari and the Senate President, who is also the Chairman of the National Assembly, with a view to finding a political solution to the matter.
Yakubu Dogara
The move by the House came soon after the Code of Conduct Bureau arraigned the Senate President before the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged false asset declaration.
The House had argued that a political solution could save the country the heat generated in the polity by Saraki’s trial at the CCT.
It also claimed that a matter affecting the National Assembly could indirectly be a threat to democracy.
Part of the resolution reads, “The House mandates the leadership of the House to meet with the President with a view to politically resolving all outstanding issues relating to National Assembly in the interest of Nigerians.
“Mandate the speaker to intervene in the present issues and challenges being faced by the Chairman of the National Assembly (Saraki) with a view to finding a political solution and protecting the institution of the National Assembly as a whole for the interest of our democracy.”
When contacted for comments, the Chairman, House Ad hoc Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Sani Zoro, said he could not confirm whether there would be a meeting between Buhari and Dogara.
Zoro claimed to have made efforts to reach the speaker but could not because of a meeting of the leadership of the House being held as of 4.44pm when he spoke with The PUNCH.
However, he admitted that Dogara was “eminently placed” to mediate in the issue since his position had not been “called to question by any authority as we speak.”
He added, “While I cannot confirm immediately whether there will be a meeting tonight between Mr. President and the Speaker, I will quickly say that the speaker has been involved in several reconciliation meetings within the party (All Progressives Congress) and other levels.
“It was not by mistake that the House mandated him to intervene in the current issue affecting the Senate President.
“He has been holding several reconciliation meetings.”
But, another member of Zoro’s committee confided in The PUNCH that he was aware that Dogara planned to meet with Buhari between Monday (yesterday) and Wednesday (tomorrow) over Saraki’s case.
Bukola Saraki
The source said two other meetings, one with Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, and the other with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal, would precede a meeting with Buhari on Wednesday.
“He will likely meet with the VP and the SGF on Tuesday (today) before another leg of meeting with Buhari on Wednesday,” the source stated.
Buhari had said that his relationship with Saraki would be determined by the outcome of his trial by the CCT.
However, the two top officials of the government were photographed on Thursday last week at an event marking the 55th Independence anniversary of the country as they laughed and bantered.
The photograph was said to be intended to portray the two as officials who had no scores to settle.
Buhari and Saraki are said not to have held any official meeting to discuss matters of state since the latter emerged as the President of the 8th Senate on June 9 against the preferred choice of the APC, Senator Ahmad Lawan.
The current peace move being spearheaded by Dogara is coming amid the screening of Buhari’s ministerial nominees by the Senate, beginning anytime from Tuesday (today).
Saraki had on Wednesday last week confirmed the receipt of the letter containing the names of the nominees but noted that the letter would be opened at plenary on Tuesday.
With Saraki in charge of affairs, there are concerns in some quarters that the Senate President may seize the opportunity to take his pound of flesh by influencing senators to reject a number of the nominees.
A High Court judge who granted an order that appeared to halt the trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, over alleged corruption, has stood down from the case.
Bukola Saraki
Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court excused himself from the case on Wednesday, and transferred the matter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Mahmud Mohammed, for reassigning, the News Agency of Nigeria reported.
He said he took the decision due to “negative reports”, NAN reported.
Mr. Saraki is facing a 13-count charge of alleged corruption and false declaration of assets before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
He denies wrongdoing and says the case was instigated by those angry he became the Senate president.
After the Code of Conduct Bureau filed charges against him two weeks ago, Mr. Saraki approached a high court to block the trial.
Justice Mohammed summoned the chairman of Code of Conduct Bureau and officials of the Ministry of Justice to explain why he should not order the stoppage of the trial.
The judge’s injunction was rejected by the Code of Conduct Tribunal which argued that the two courts were of coordinate jurisdiction.
Mr. Saraki later appeared before the tribunal after the Court of Appeal dismissed his appeal, and asked him to face trial.
On Tuesday, Mr. Saraki was given a vote of confidence by 83 senators.
THE Senate, expectedly, had a stormy session on Tuesday as some members of the upper legislative chamber protested the passing of vote of confidence in the Senate president, Olusola Saraki, by 83 senators.
Bukola Saraki
Tuesday was the Senate’s first plenary since the arraignment of Saraki by the Code of Conduct Bureau for false asset declaration. The senior lawmakers had been on break since August 13.
Members of the House of Representatives, however, on Tuesday, said they had chosen to support the anti-corruption crusade of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, conveyed the position of the House in an address to lawmakers as they reconvened in Abuja after a six-week annual recess.
There was uproar in the Senate as the senator representing Zamfara Central Senatorial District, Kabir Marafa, complained that he was denied the opportunity to air his own view before the Senate president subjected the confidence motion to vote.
Senator Babajide Omoworare also protested the inclusion of his name as a co-sponsor of the confidence vote in Saraki.
Omoworare, representing Osun East Senatorial District, said his consent was not sought even as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business.
He later, in a statement, dissociated himself from the vote of confidence passed in Saraki.
In an electronic mail to one of our correspondents, Omoworare said he was not contacted before his name was included in the list of 84 senators, who passed votes of confidence in Saraki.
He had then moved that his name should be struck out of the motion.
The motion for the lawmakers to pass vote of confidence in the Senate president was moved by an All Progressives Congress member representing Niger East Senatorial District, David Umaru, on behalf of 83 others.
The motion, reportedly endorsed by 48 Peoples Democratic Party senators and 35 APC senators, was passed by overwhelming shout of ‘ye’ by the lawmakers.
It was the second confidence vote in Saraki in as many as two months. Eighty-one out of the 108 members of the Senate passed a similar vote on July 28
Umaru, while moving the motion, had noted alleged interference in the affairs of the senate “by detractors and media propaganda against senators, the senate and its leadership for selfish politicians.”
He said the Senate would not allow itself to be distracted and that it would not succumb to blackmail in the course of carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.
He therefore called on innocent Nigerians, groups and political associations not to allow themselves to be used by any person or persons to intimidate or blackmail the Senate and its leadership.
But Marafa,who is the spokesperson for the Senate Unity Forum, a group opposed to the leadership of the Senate by Saraki, caused an uproar by noting that Saraki was only calling on his supporters to contribute.
Marafa, who was later recognised to speak after Saraki had ruled on the motion, cited order 53 (5) of the Senate Standing Rule, which forbids the Senate from discussing any issue before the court.
The insistence of Saraki that Marafa should also read the provision of Order 53 (6), which equally forbids any senator from raising any issue upon which the Senate president had ruled upon, degenerated into an open confrontation between the two lawmakers.
While Marafa argued that Saraki deliberately denied him an opportunity to talk before he ruled on the issue, the Senate president stood his ground and ruled the Zamfara senator out of order.
An angry Marafa consequently stood up and accused Saraki of giving only his loyalists the opportunity to speak on the floor and the resultant reactions from both pro- and anti – Saraki senators disrupted the deliberation on the motion on the outbreak of cholera moved by Senator Soni Ogbuoji.
An APC member representing Bauchi Central, Senator Issah Missau, climbed his seat and shouted on Marafa to “shut up and sit down” and Marafa responded by threatening to beat up Missau.
At the height of the confusion in the chamber, the immediate past Senate president, David Mark, stood up and quietly walked out.
In the ensuing confusion, Saraki called on the Sergeant-at-Arms to bring the proceedings to order but some of Marafa’s colleagues in the SUF, led by Senator Ahmad Lawan, sent back the Sergeant-at-Arms, saying the situation was under control.
Marafa was thereafter led out of the chamber by some senators who took him to the office of Senator Olusola Adeyeye (Osun Central) and barred him from speaking to journalists.
The aggrieved senator later returned to the chamber and the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, apologised on his behalf to the Senate.
The Senate spokesperson, Senator Dino Melaye, while addressing journalists after the plenary, lamented “the unruly behaviour of Marafa” and warned that the Senate would take necessary disciplinary action against him in future if he repeated such attitude.
Melaye said, “The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, in session, apologised to Nigerians for the unbecoming attitude of Senator Marafa. That act is disgraceful, unacceptable and condemnable and that the senate regrets that.
“We want to assure Nigerians that this will be the last time that the Senate will condone such misbehaviour. His action contravenes Section 56 of the Standing Rule of the Senate but his misbehaviour is regrettable.
“The Senate will do everything within its powers to ensure that the situation does not repeat itself and where it is repeated, it would be met with stiff adherence to the rules of the Senate.”
A House of Representatives member, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas (Adamawa-APC), has stated that the declaration of assets by public office holders should not be done publicly.
“For me, I think it’s legal to declare, but it must not be done publicly; it’s an individual matter,” he told NAN.
“Individuals, who feel strongly about particular individual’s assets can always go to the Code of Conduct Bureau and obtain information from them.
“The law did not insist that it must be made publicly, but it is an individual’s right who chooses to show transparency and it will go a long way by making it public.
“In my own opinion, it is constitutional provision that all elected and public office holders should declare their assets with the Code of Conduct Bureau on assumption of office and even on leaving office.
“For me, it is good that every public holder officer both elected and appointed should declare his assets, but is not mandatory that these assets must be declared publicly; it should be done in line with the law.
Namdas however insisted that assets declaration by public officers on assumption of office will help check corruption.
Namdas said this in Abuja on Monday, adding that, while the law had made it mandatory for all public office holders to declare their assets, it was not compulsory for the declared assets to be made public.
The lawmaker also urged public office holders to obey the law on assets declaration to strengthen good governance.
“I think there is a misconception about Nigerians on the declaration of these assets; there is this feeling that it’s only elected members or elected officials that are to declare (assets).
“No! Every public officer, whether serving at the Local Government level, State level, Federal level – whichever level, once you are a public officer, you are expected to sign.
“And corruption does not just stop among those that are elected, it goes around even those that are appointed, so when you falsely declare your assets, be it whether elected or appointed, the bureau will follow due process.
“But I think this idea of people looking as if it is only elected individuals that should declare, I think it is not true, it is for everybody and I expect that everybody should subject himself to the law.
“It is not something we are negotiating on this matter, it is a constitutional requirement. So people should adhere to it.”
The APC lawmaker, however, said that misconception was largely responsible for the insistence that an individual’s assets be made public by the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Nigerian workers, under the umbrellas of the Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress, have asked the President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, to vacate his office pending the determination of his case at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Bukola Saraki
The workers, who spoke across the country, said although Saraki is still on trial and has not been found guilty of the allegations against him, it is morally right for him to vacate his office as Senate President to defend himself.
The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation is prosecuting Saraki for alleged false declaration of his assets at the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Saraki had, last Tuesday, stepped into the dock at the CCT in Abuja, where he was arraigned for false assets declaration charges.
He pleaded not guilty to all the 13 charges slammed on him by the CCB and his trial has been scheduled to hold on October 21, 22 and 23.
Leaders of the NLC and the TUC, who spoke to SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, said it had become necessary for Saraki to step aside from Senate presidency to answer the charges preferred against him.
Organised labour had on, September 10, 2015, held nationwide protests against corruption, while seeking death penalty for public treasury looters.
Labour said it was only by killing looters that the anti-corruption crusade being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari could succeed.
President of the TUC, Mr. Bobboi Bala, in an interview with one of our correspondents, said Saraki has a moral burden to resign.
He said, “Resignation is a moral burden on people. But if somebody feels that he will carry his cross, go to the courts and try to exonerate himself, he should be given the opportunity. But it would be too bad if at the end of the day, he is found guilty. It does not speak well of public office holders.
“In other climes, as soon as such things happen, people tender their letters of resignation. Obviously, it is a moral burden on him. We hope all politicians will begin to know that no matter how highly placed they are, one day, they will definitely have to account for their stewardship.”
Several chapters of the NLC and the TUC across the states also asked for Saraki’s resignation on Saturday.
The Chairman, TUC, Ogun State, Mr. Olubunmi Fajobi, told one of our correspondents that if it were in a civilised clime, the Senate President would have stepped aside to allow for free and fair trial.
He said, “As it were, the Senate President is sitting on a delicate seat. If it were a civilised society, he would have stepped aside to allow for a fair trial, so that he won’t allow his official position to influence the decision of the tribunal.”
Also, the Ekiti State Chairman of the NLC, Mr. Raymond Adesanmi, advised Saraki to step down from office.
He said, “If it were in other climes, he would have resigned. My advice for him would be to step down as the Senate President to answer the charges against him. If at the end of the day he is not found guilty, he could return to his position.”
Adesanmi’s TUC counterpart in Ekiti, Mr. Adesoye Adedayo, corroborated him.
He said, “Although the case against him has political undertone, I would advise him to resign to prove his innocence.”
In Cross River State, the Chairman of the TUC, Mr. Clarkson Otu, who noted that labour unions had yet to meet to take a definite position on Saraki’s trial, said the Senate President should resign his position.
He said, “This whole thing is politics. The said irregularities allegedly discovered in Sariki’s assets declaration are issues before the CCT, but having got himself involved in this controversy, he should quit as senate president based on moral grounds.
“If he does not quit, he will keep battling to retain that position. This is my personal view and not that of the TUC.”
The factional Chairman of the NLC in Delta State, Mr. Williams Akporeha, the state chapter of the union was in support of Saraki’s resignation.
“We are saying that he should step aside because he is facing trial that borders on allegations of fraud and misinformation. He should resign on a clean slate instead of his continued stay in office in shameless aberration,” he said.
In the same vein, Chairman of the TUC in Delta, Mr. Myke Arinze, said, “Senator Saraki should resign and set the record straight because he cannot be facing trial and be dictating as Senate President.”
CNPP, CODER, SERAP, others ask Senate President to quit
Second Republic Governor of old Kaduna State and Chairman of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, Mr. Balarabe Musa, in an interview with SUNDAY PUNCH on Saturday, also urged Saraki to step down as Senate President as a show of respect for his office.
Musa said, “First of all, it depends on his conscience. If he knows that the allegations against him have anything bordering on genuineness and if he knows that he has not done anything above board, he should succumb to his conscience.
“In honour of the institution he represents, it is therefore best for him to resign in order not to undermine the position of the judge.
“If he knows that there are elements of truth in the allegations against him, he should not cost the government so much in court and thereby undermine the integrity of the bench; he should just resign. He is still young; he still has a lot of opportunities.”
Also, the Coalition against Corrupt Leaders called for Saraki’s resignation.
The Executive Chairman, CACOL, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said, “He should resign for now. If he is found to be innocent, then Nigerians would have reason to apologise to him and his dignity will be restored. If he continues to hold on to power, he is likely to lose more dignity; nobody will respect him for doing so.”
Similarly, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project described Nigeria as a peculiar place, where issues of probity, integrity and adherence to the rule of law would be questioned and politicians would continue to remain in public office “as if those things don’t matter.”
According to the Executive Director of SERAP, Adetokunbo Mumuni, in saner climes, when public figures would have such burden on them, the first thing to do would be to get off the seat to clear their name by virtue of the rule of law and due process.
Mumuni said, “If people are saying he should resign, I also support that move because as the number three man in Nigeria, he has not set a very good example. It is not a question of ‘If I was not declared senate president, nobody will remember what I did 10 years ago.’ Why didn’t he declare his assets when he was governor?
“If we are talking about equity, then we must be able to come to equity with clean hands. That is the way I see it. I have never been a subscriber to the idea of witch-hunting. Why can’t they just follow the law? The question of witch-hunting, to me, is neither here nor there. Did they comply with the law? I don’t believe in the idea that they have enemies somewhere.
“Why shouldn’t we do what is needful and proper and we now start talking about witch-hunting? Matters of criminal infraction don’t have limitations. I have never seen a defence to an infraction of law where one would say, ‘Some people were not dealt with, so I cannot be dealt with.’”
Also, the Convener, Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, faulted those who call Saraki’s trial a witch-hunt. He said the Senate President should resign.
He said, “I believe it will be good for the Senate and the country – for political responsibility – for Bukola Saraki to resign. Unless that is done, his political influence will interfere in the process.”
In the same vein, the Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform said even though Saraki remained innocent until the tribunal finds him guilty, it had become morally necessary for the Senate President to resign from office.
Convener of CODER, Chief Ayo Opadokun, who was the General Secretary of the National Democratic Coalition and an ex-Secretary-General of the Afenifere, said it was not possible for all lawbreakers in the country to be tried at once. He said, “They have to be picked one by one.”
He said although other lawmakers in the National Assembly might have committed similar offences on assets declaration, Saraki’s trial would serve as a good lesson to others.
Opadokun said, “Saraki’s trial has more fundamental dimension because of the fact that someone crookedly emerged as leader of the Nigerian legislature and he has been charged for false declaration (of assets), which is a criminal offence and which carries significant punishment fashioned by the Nigerian criminal law system.
“He should resign to face the charges against him. He should have resigned long ago.”
Chairman of the 2014 National Conference Convocation Committee, Senator Femi Okunrounmu, said on Saturday that more than 90 per cent of politicians in the country are guilty of false declaration of assets.
Okunrounmu stated this while interacting with newsmen on the sidelines of the 80th birthday celebration of the Founder of O’odua Peoples Congress, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, in Ikeja, Lagos.
He said if anybody had done anything that was against the law or Constitution, the person should be called to account.
According to him, it is good and part of the fight against corruption, saying the fight should be holistic.
“It should cover all the people who are guilty, not just target a few individuals. Ninety per cent of politicians declare assets falsely, so the law should go after all the people that are guilty of such false declaration of assets; try them and bring them to justice.
“They shouldn’t just target one or two people,” he said.
On the National Confab, Okunrounmu alleged that the All Progressives Congress had always opposed it.
“May be, the Constitution is favourable to some parts of the North; many northern APC leaders have always opposed a national confab.
“May be, one can understand why they oppose a confab, but those who know how the current Constitution came to being know that it was fashioned by successive military rulers, mostly from the North,” he added.
He said the southern wing of the APC had always agitated for a national conference, but opposed to the 2014 confab “for political reasons”.
On the delay in cabinet formation by President Muhammadu Buhari, the former confab convocation committee chairman said there was no provision for the President to administer Nigeria without a cabinet.
There are indications that politicians in the country have begun to lobby the Code of Conduct Bureau in a bid to amend some of the information in the asset declaration forms that they had earlier submitted.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the development is because of fear of arrest as this is coming in the light of the ongoing trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki at the Code of Conduct Tribunal over alleged false declaration of assets.
Investigation by Saturday PUNCH showed that state CCB offices have become busier following Saraki’s ordeal at the CCT, but sources told our correspondents that it was too late for politicians to change the information they had earlier given to the bureau.
For instance, sources in the CCB office in Delta State disclosed that some politicians, including senators and members of the House of Representatives, have been lobbying officials of the bureau to grant them permission to amend the asset declaration forms they had submitted.
According to the source, politicians in the state had until now taken the exercise for granted, believing that they could never be prosecuted over it.
The source said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption stance and the trial of Saraki at the CCT seemed to have jolted the politicians.
Confirming that politicians have begun lobbying CCB officials, the source, who did not want to be named, added that officials of the bureau have recently had to take their security more seriously as a result of the fresh attention drawn to it by Saraki’s prosecution.
The source said, “The Saraki trial has caused politicians to become jittery. They have been gripped by fear of arrest because of the recent political events and some of them have been secretly visiting our offices to lobby some of us. They include senators and members of the House of Representatives.
“Some of the politicians that have been coming are highly placed. Before now, they took everything for granted, knowing that they are in the same party with the government at the centre. With the recent developments, many of them are now rushing to amend the information given on their asset declaration forms.
“They say there might be errors in their forms and that they are willing to make the necessary adjustments.”
Our correspondents also learnt that politicians in Ondo State have been approaching officials of CCB to assist them in amending the forms they had submitted to the bureau.
One of the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, informed one of our correspondents that some politicians in the state, who were believed to have lied about their assets in the disclosure forms, have been pleading with officials of the bureau to allow them to review their information.
He said, “Some of them have been coming to us to amend some information on their forms, but there is nothing we can do about their request, because the forms had already been forwarded to Abuja and there is no way we can retrieve them again, at least from our own end here. I don’t know of any other means.”
The source, however, denied that officials of the bureau have been conniving with politicians to cover up for those who declared false assets, saying, “That is criminal, everybody is now very careful. This is an era of change and nobody wants to play with his job again.”
But a source at the CCB office in Enugu admitted to one of our correspondents that politicians sometimes want to review information they submitted in their forms, attributing it to their ignorance.
He said nobody is allowed to review information already put in such asset declaration forms.
He, however, regretted the possibility of some officials of the bureau conniving with politicians to make illegal amendments in the forms.
“Anything is possible,” he said, adding that “It is also possible that some staff of the bureau would conspire with politicians” to rectify completed assets declaration forms.
In the same vein, he revealed that, most times, officials of the CCB assist politicians in filling their asset declaration forms.
He said the CCB usually works with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, disclosing that the bureau recently aided the anti-graft agency by making the asset declaration form of a former governor of the state available for corruption charges.
The official said, “The CCB is usually involved in the investigation of corruption cases, particularly those involving elected public office holders.
“I know for a fact that when the EFCC brought charges against a former governor of this state (Enugu), we made input in the investigation because the assets declared at the beginning of the tenure were taken into consideration before the case was filed.”
In Rivers State, an official of the CCB, who did not want to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the issue, however, described efforts by politicians to lobby the bureau’s officials as a waste of time.
The source also told Saturday PUNCH that once asset declaration forms were filled and submitted by politicians, it would be criminal for any official of the CCB to allow an amendment to the document.
Explaining that the filled forms were always sent to the CCB headquarters in Abuja after submission by politicians, the official insisted that such forms would not be returned even if they were still in the state.
The source said, “We have their (politicians) slips and completed forms, which have already been sent to the CCB in Abuja. Since the politicians had already sworn to oaths that whatever they filled in the forms as their assets is correct, they cannot come for amendments.
“It (amending or altering asset declaration) is not right; it is not possible and it is a criminal offence. It is not possible for any of us here to be involved in anything like that.”
The Ekiti State Director, CCB, Mr. Akinfolarin Feyisola, said there has been no lobbying of officials of the bureau by politicians in the state, adding that any official found wanting would be prosecuted.
He said, “We don’t have such cases here. The state office does not have the power to investigate and verify assets declared by anyone, except with the authorisation of the Federal Commissioner.”
A source at the CCB office in Osogbo told one of our correspondents on Friday that asset declaration forms filled by political office holders in Osun State had since been submitted to Abuja.
He said there was no way any politician could return to the state office to ‘rectify’ any falsehood in the asset declaration forms already submitted to them.
The State Director of the CCB in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Ime Obot, disclosed that when public officials in the state declare their assets, his office lacks the power to work on the contents or even view them.
According to him, as soon as a public official declares his assets in the form, which is enclosed in a sealed envelope, the agency’s duty in Uyo is to forward same to its headquarters in Abuja for further actions.
On politicians lobbying some workers of the agency to manipulate the contents of the documents in their favour, Obot said such situation does not exist in the state since his office does not have power over asset declaration.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, Code of Conduct Bureau, Sam Saba, said he was not aware that politicians had started lobbying officials of the agency to rectify their asset declaration forms.
He said this in a text message in response to inquiries made by our correspondent in Osogbo on Friday.
Saba said, “As a matter of fact, verification of assets and liabilities of governors, lawmakers and others is a shared responsibility between the headquarters and state offices.
“Teams to verify are drawn up at the headquarters including staff from respective states. The teams are headed by Federal Commissioners on a zonal arrangement.
“I am not aware that politicians have been lobbying officials of the CCB to block loopholes in the forms filled that are already in its custody. Such requests have not reached our Abuja office.”
Abubakar said this in an interview with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday.
