CCT trial: Saraki’s Gain, FG’s Pain

AFTER two years of legal tussle, the Senate
President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on June 14,
persuaded the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT,
sitting in Abuja, to terminate further hearing on
the 18-count amended charge the Federal
Government preferred against him. Saraki was
docked before the CCT on September 22, 2015,
on a 13-count charge and latter re-arraigned on
April 28, 2016, on an amended 16-count
corruption charge.
FG subsequently added two more counts to
charges against him. Specifically, Saraki was in
the charge 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, as well as,
operated foreign bank account while in office as
a public servant.
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, among other offences, alleged that Saraki,
claimed that he owned and acquired No 15A and
15B McDonald, 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. 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.
Nevertheless, in a unanimous decision, the two-
man-panel tribunal headed by Justice Danladi
Umar, held that FG failed to prove essential
elements of all the allegations it levelled against
Saraki. The tribunal held that oral and
documentary evidence that FG adduced before
it, were “so much discredited during cross-
examination”, saying the proof of evidence was
so”manifestly unreliable that no court or tribunal
can rely on it to make any conviction”.
The panel maintained that all the evidence FG
tendered against the defendant lacked probative
value and were primarily hearsay in nature. The
tribunal noted that four witnesses FG brought to
testify against the defendant, gave contradictory
evidence.
Specifically, the tribunal Chairman, Justice Umar
who gave the lead ruling, stressed that whereas
the Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, is the
institution constitutionally empowered to
prosecute allegations against Saraki, it observed
that FG however placed much reliance on a
report from the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, which it said was more of
intelligence gathering than proper investigation.
Justice Umar said the evidence of third witness,
PW-3, Mr. Samuel Madujemu, who is the Head
of Investigation and Intelligence Department at
the CCB, did not help the case of the
prosecution. He observed that Madujemu
admitted that contrary to provisions of the law,
Saraki was not at any time invited by the CCB to
make clarifications on discrepancies that were
allegedly found in his assets declaration forms.
Justice Umar said that Madujemu had in his
testimony also admitted that averrments he
made in an affidavit he deposed in support of
the charge against Saraki, were based on
information supplied to him by his undisclosed
team of investigators. “From the simple analysis
of the evidence of the prosecution, we find it
difficult to accept the seriousness of the
witnesses. All the evidence were so discredited,
unreliable that no reasonable court will attach
probative value to them.
“In the light of the foregoing, and since essential
ingredients of all the charges were not proved
as required by law, this tribunal has no other
option than to discharge the defendant. “The
Honourable tribunal upholds the no-case
submission and the defendant is accordingly
discharged and acquitted”, Justice Umar held.
While concurring with the lead ruling, the
second member of the panel, Mr. Williams
AtedzeAgwadza, held that FG failed to establish
a prima-facie case capable of warranting the
tribunal to compel Saraki to enter his defence to
the charge against him. Mr. Agwadza noted that
the joint investigative team that probed Saraki’s
assets, which comprised of operatives of the
EFCC, the CCB and Federal Ministry of Justice
was unknown to law as the team had no
constitutional or statutory backing, adding that
the entire charge was anchored on report of the
said team.
“Evidence to establish offence must be such that
has probative value. Another fatal error on the
part of the complainant was the failure to obtain
statement of the defendant”. Besides, Agwadza
said that the prosecution failed to call vital
witnesses, including the Accountant General of
Kwara state to establish the allegation that
Saraki received governorship salary while he
was already a member of the National
Assembly.
“My humble conclusion is that the defendant in
this case has no case to answer and is
accordingly discharged and acquitted. The
Federal Government failed to link the defendant
with the commission of offences as charged.
Here say evidence is not admissible for purpose
of establishing criminal liability.

Governorship salary
“Another fatal error is that prosecution did not
get evidence of the defendant to show fairness.
It will be fundamentally erroneous for the
tribunal to call on the defendant to prove his
innocence to the charge”, Agwadza added.
More so, the tribunal noted that a former head
of fund transfer unit at Guarantee Trust Bank,
GTB, Mr. NwachukwuAmazu, who was brought
to establish how Saraki allegedly laundered
funds to offshore accounts, admitted that most
of the evidence were consumed by fire. It will be
recalled that FG had on May 5, closed its case
against Saraki after it called a total of four
witnesses and tendered 48 exhibits in support of
the amended 18-count charge.
Thereafter, Saraki, through his consortium of
lawyers led by a former Attorney General of the
Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, entered a
no-case-submission, insisting that FG failed to
establish a prima-facie case against him.
Meantime, dissatisfied with Saraki’s acquittal,
FG, quickly lodged an appeal to challenge the
CCT’s verdict.
FG, through its private prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi
Jacobs, SAN, raised 11 grounds of appeal
wherein it faulted all the grounds on which the
CCT predicated Saraki’s acquittal. According to
FG, “The judgment of the lower tribunal is
unwarranted, unreasonable and against the
weight of evidence”. FG maintained that the CCT
erred in law by upholding Saraki’s no-case
submission “when the onus of proof” was on the
Senate President to show that there was no
infraction in the Code of Conduct Forms.
“By the provisions of paragraphs 11 (2), (3) and
(13) of Part 1, 5th Schedule to the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as
amended), once the Code of Conduct form filled
by the public officer is investigated and found to
be false or that some assets are beyond the
legitimate income of the public officer or that the
assets were acquired by means of corrupt
practices, the public officer concerned is
deemed to have breached the Code of Conduct
and it is for him to show to the tribunal that
there is no infraction in the form.”
“The honourable tribunal wrongly placed the
onus of proof on the prosecution contrary to
paragraphs 11 (2), (3) and (13) of Part 1, 5th
Schedule to the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“The Constitution of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) clearly excluded the
presumption of innocence on the allegation of
infraction of the Code of Conduct by public
officers and the Tribunal wrongly applied the
presumption of innocence contrary to the
constitutional requirement.
“The tribunal’s decision is unconstitutional and
without jurisdiction.”
Consequently, FG prayed the Court of Appeal in
Abuja for; “An order setting aside the ruling of
the Code of Conduct Tribunal delivered on June
14, 2017 upholding the no-case submission
raised by the respondent (Saraki) at the close of
the prosecution’s case.
As well as, “an order calling upon the
respondent to enter his defence.”
It told the appellate court that the CCT failed to
analyse and evaluate the evidence of
prosecution witnesses before reaching the
conclusion that there was no case made against
Saraki.
However, Saraki had since dismissed the appeal
as a joke, boasting that he will still defeat FG at
the appellate court.
Though no date has been fixed for
commencement of hearing on the appeal,
Nigerians are however following the case with
keen interest to see how the entire legal drama
will end, probably at the Supreme Court.