Tribunal reserves ruling on Saraki’s ‘no case submission’

…You have case to answer, FG insists

The Code of Conduct Tribunal on Thursday reserved ruling on the “no case submission” made by Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who is standing trial on 16-count charge for alleged false asset declaration.

Saraki told the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) on Thursday that the false assets declaration charge filed against him was faulty and should be dismissed for being incompetent.

Besides, he said that the four prosecution witnesses and the exhibits tendered with intent to prove the 18-count charge leveled against him by the Federal Government did not in any way establish prima facie case against him.

Arguing Saraki’s application for ‘no case submission ‘ before the Code of Conduct Tribunal yesterday, his counsel, Mr. Kanu Agabi (SAN) said that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges of false asset declaration against Saraki ,therefore there was no need for the tribunal to ordered him to enter defence.

He noted that the charges against Saraki were predicated on petitions and that throughout the prosecution’s case, the report of the investigation on the petitions was never made available to the Tribunal for verification.

Agabi (SAN) urged the tribunal to painstakingly read all the petitions so as to be able to form opinion that the petitions have nothing to do with the Senate President.

Apart from the fact that the reports on the investigation on the petitions were not made available to the Tribunal by the Federal Government, none of the petitioners was invited as witness in the charges against the defendant.

He argued that the 18 count charges were founded on faceless petitions and pleaded with the tribunal to dismiss the charges.

He specifically drew the attention of the tribunal to count 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16 and added that in those counts Saraki was charged “with false declaration of assets by making no declaration of assets.”

Agabi insisted that the charges were full of anomalies and filled with inconsistencies adding that “false declaration by refusal to declare is unknown to law.”

He maintained that Saraki declared his assets as required by law and that no one has authority to declare an asset declaration of a public officer as false, unless such a person is authorised by law to do so.

Agabi said that throughout the prosecution’s case no body was mentioned as having declared Saraki’s assets form as false.

The counsel referred the tribunal to the evidence of Samuel Madojemu, the head of Investigation and intelligence unit of the Code of Conduct Bureau and his affidavit evidence adding that throughout his testimony, he based his evidence on hearsay from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), adding that witnesses who ought to be called to prove the case were not called.

Agabi urged the Tribunal chairman Hon. Danladi Yakubu Umar to decide the defendant application based on law and not on sentiments as expressed by the prosecution.

In his response to the no case submission, counsel to the Federal Government, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) asked the tribunal to dismiss the application and direct the defendant to enter defence.

He insisted that the prosecution has established prima facie case against the defendant to warrant the Tribunal to call on him to enter his defence.

He drew the attention of the Tribunal to the assets forms filled by Saraki in 1999 and 2003 and asked the tribunal to compare them with the defendant’s asset declaration in 2007 and 2011. He said the tribunal will find that the defendant had failed to declare his correct asset.

He said the defendant’s counsel had formed an erroneous impression that a public officer could hide his or her assets under a company or with a third party.

Rotimi told the Tribunal that discharging the defendant at a no case point level will defeat the fight against corruption and purpose of the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

He also said it is erroneous to have stated that prosecuting agency relied on petition to act. The fact is that prosecution agency relied on intelligence reports which in this case are already in evidences.

Jacobs asked the tribunal not to form opinion on the evidences of the prosecution at this stage of the trial without taking the evidences of the defendant.

“Don’t form opinion, evaluate evidence or make observations on the facts at this level, but ask the defendant to answer questions raised in the charge that have been established via evidences.”

The Tribunal chairman, Danladi Yakubu Umar, after taking arguments from both sides announced that he will sit down with his colleagues on the panel to decide on the no case submission and communicate to the lawyers when the ruling is ready.

It would be recalled the Federal Government had in September 2015 slammed charges of false declaration of assets on Saraki. The charges were later amended three times in the cause of the trial.