ABUJA – The Court of Appeal has dismissed the ex-parte application by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, seeking to set aside the order made on Friday by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) issuing bench warrant for Saraki’s arrest.
Submitting that it cannot interfere with the proceedings pending at the lower court, the Court of Appeal held that it will be in the interest of notice for the respondents to be put on notice.
Consequently the ex-parte application is refused and the motion on notice set down for hearing on September 28.
Also, Justice Armed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, in another refused a similar application by Saraki and adjourned to September 30 for the hearing of the substantive suit challenging the competence of charge before the CCT and the preliminary objection filed by the CCT and the Federal Ministry of Justice.
Justice Mohammed held that, in view of the constitutional and radical nature of the issues raised in the respondents’ objection, it was reasonable for the court not to waste time on interlocutory applications.
“Since all the parties have filed relevant documents, this case is ripe for hearing and in order not to waste the court’s time, the case is adjourned to Sept.30 for hearing”, Justice Mohammed ruled after listening to arguments from counsels to parties in the matter.
Counsel to Saraki, Adebayo Adelodun, had said that in spite of the notice served on the tribunal by the Federal High Court, it had gone ahead to entertain the matter.
He drew the attention of the court to a statement made by the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, that the court could not summon it because it had coordinate jurisdiction with the court.
Counsel to the Federal Government Taiwo Abidogun, however, argued that Ministry of Justice, Code of Conduct Bureau and Code of Conduct Tribunal had not received any notice from the court.
Abidogun said that was why the tribunal sat on Friday and issued a bench warrant against the Senate President.
He said that even if service was made, it must have come after the tribunal had risen. Mohammed, however, corrected Abidogun and provided evidence to show that the notice was actually served the respondents.
The judge therefor ruled that the matter was ripe for hearing since both parties had filed the relevant documents.
The Federal Government had filed 13 charges against Saraki on alleged false assets declaration.
Saraki, who was scheduled to appear before the tribunal on Sept. 18 to answer charges against him, filed an exparte motion at the Federal High Court, asking the court to stop his trial.
The court had ordered that the Federal Ministry of Justice, the tribunal and the bureau to appear before it and show cause why Saraki’s prayer should not be
granted.
Meanwhile, the Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki will today, appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in response to an earlier summon by the Tribunal, to answer for alleged omissions and false declarations in his Code of Conduct Declaration Form for public servants in 2003.
This is even as the CCT yesterday, restated its order that the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, arrest and bring the Senate President, Bukola Saraki before the Tribunal on Tuesday, by 10am, to answer charges pending against him.
Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar, gave the ruling on Monday, after Saraki for the second time, failed to show up before the Tribunal.
The tribunal rejected Saraki’s lawyer’s prayer that it stay proceeding to await the outcome of an appeal he filed against the bench warrant earlier issued on Friday.
The tribunal also discountenanced the argument by Saraki’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), that the newly passed Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) – which seeks to discourage undue delay – is not applicable to the tribunal.
It noted that the purported order made last week by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court, Abuja, did not stay the proceedings before the tribunal.
Some of the allegations contained in the suit filed at the CCT against Saraki include alleged failure to declare property on Plot 2A, Glover Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; failure to declare property on No. 1, Tagus Street, Maitama, Abuja (Plot 2482, Cadastral Zone A06, Abuja) and failure to declare property No.3, Tagus Street, Maitama, Abuja (Plot 2481, Cadastral Properties Limited).
Others are claiming to own property on No 42 Gerard Road, Ikoyi and earning N110, 000,000.00 per annum at a time the said property was under construction; failure to declare N375m GTB loan converted to 1.5m Pound Sterling and used to purchase property in London; operating a foreign bank account; transfer of $3.4m from GTB to foreign bank account during his tenure as governor and failure to declare leasehold interest in No. 42, Remi Fani-Kayode Street, Ikeja.
Sen. Saraki is coming to the CCT following his failed attempts at the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, both in Abuja, to set aside the order of the CCT.
Determination of the motion on notice and the substantive suit before the Federal High Court has been adjourned till 30th of September and the appeal pending before the Court of Appeal adjourned till Monday, the 28th of September 2015.
In a press statement yesterday, by his Special Adviser to Senate President on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu Senate President Saraki maintained that he is ready to submit himself to due process of the law on any issue concerning him, but he believes that he has an inalienable right to resort to the same judiciary for protection when he feels his fundamental rights are about to be infringed upon.
“The Senate President is a law abiding citizen and his absence from tribunal was based on legal advice he received from his counsel that it is not necessary for him to appear before the tribunal at this stage since the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the process of initiating the matter are being challenged before the Federal High Court Abuja.
Following the adjournment for the determination of the motion on notice and the substantive suit before the Federal High Court to 30th of September and the appeal pending before the Court of Appeal adjourned to the 29th of September 2015, the Senate President has decided, as a law abiding citizen, to appear before the Tribunal in the interim.
Dr. Saraki has taken the decision to attend the Tribunal sitting to demonstrate his respect for the rule of law in spite of his personal reservation on the process of his trial and the purpose it may be intended to serve.
Dr. Saraki wishes to assure Nigerians of his absolute belief in the judicial process and is therefore confident that the course of justice would be served at the end of this matter”, the statement continued.
