Court Delays Saraki's Trial Over Alleged False Declaration Of Assets

SAN FRANCISCO, September 17, (THEWILL) – A Federal High Court in Abuja has temporarily blocked the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) from docking Senate President, Bukola Saraki over allegations of false declaration of assets.

Saraki was slated for docking Friday at the Code of Conduct Tribunal in Abuja.

But Justice Ahmed Mohammed in a ruling in chamber on Thursday following an ex-parte application filed Wednesday by Mr. Saraki's lawyer, Mr. Mahmud Magaji, SAN, ordered the Federal Ministry of Justice; the Deputy Director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. M.S. Hassan; Chairman of the CCB and Chairman of the Code of Conduct tribunal, CCT, to appear before the court on Monday, September 21, 2015, to show why the court should allow the trial.

The CCB through the Office of Attorney General of the Federation had filed a 13-count charge against Saraki at the tribunal on allegations that he lied in his assets declaration form.

Count one accused Saraki of making “false declaration in the assets declaration form for public officers on assumption of office as Governor of Kwara State by making an anticipatory asset declaration in that you claimed to have owned and acquired No. 15A and N0. 15B McDonald Ikoyi, Lagos through your company Carlisle Properties Limited in the year 2000 when the said property was actual fact sold by the Implementation Committee on Federal Government landed property in the year 2006 to your companies Tiny Tee Limited and Vitti Oil Limited for the aggregate sum of N396, 150, 000.”

According to the charge sheet, Saraki also allegedly operated an American Express credit card account during his tenure as Governor, where he allegedly wired at least $3.4 million to from a Nigerian account.

But Saraki in a well circulated press statement debunked the charges and accused the CCB of being influenced by external forces.