The
trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki continues today (Thursday, April 28)
at the Code of Conduct Tribunal with the Chairman of the tribunal expected
to rule on an application filed by Saraki seeking his withdrawal from the
trial.
The Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr Danladi
Umar, had fixed
Thursday, April 28 for ruling on the Senate President’s
application and then continuation of the cross examination.
This was after the counsel to the Senate
President,
Mr Raphael Oluyede,
on Wednesday told the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr Danladi
Umar, that he lacked moral justification to preside over his client’s trial on
an allegation of false declaration of asset.
He requested
that he should disqualify himself from his trial.
Mr Oluyede, during the hearing, insisted that
Mr Danladi was still under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC), the same agency that allegedly filed the criminal charges
against him.
He alleged that it was obvious that the said
investigation was used as a bait by the EFCC to get Mr Danladi to do its
bidding.
He, therefore, asked the Chairman to excuse
himself from the case, in the interest of justice and fair hearing.
Objecting the motion, the prosecuting counsel,
Rotimi Jacobs, asked the Tribunal to dismiss the motion, claiming it lacked
merit.
He accused the Senate President of
harassment, citing a bill before the Senate attempting to amend the Act that
established the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Mr Jacobs also described the issues raised in
the motion as matters of sentiment which had no place in law.
He also accused the Senate President and his
team of predicating the motion on the wrong assumption that the EFCC was the
one trying the Senate President when it was the Federal Government.
To this end, he asked that the motion be
discountenanced.
0 Comments