Again, Saraki loses bid to stop his trial at CCT, as Appeal Court affirms tribunal's jurisdiction
The Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki has again lost the bid to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal as the Appeal Court at the Federal Capital Territory Abuja on Thursday affirmed the jurisdiction of the CCT to try him.
Saraki sought the declaration of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) as being incompetent on the charges against him bordering on false declaration of assets. The presiding judge of the court, Justice Abdul Aboki, reaffirmed the CCT's jurisdiction. According to him, Nigeria's Attorney General has the constitutional power to institute charges against the senator before CCT. He eventually dismissed the appeal filed by the Senate President challenging his trial before the tribunal.
CCT Tribunal Chairman, Justice Danladi Umar had ruled over Saraki's case upholding the jurisdiction of the tribunal to try the Nigeria's Senate President.
Other members of the panel unanimously agreed with the Justice Abdul Aboki's judgment against Saraki.
With the court ruling, Justice Abdul Aboki ruling on Thursday meant that the trial of the Senate President would continue at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, where he is facing a 16-count charge of corruption and false assets declaration.
Recently, Justice Danladi Umar, CCT Chairman, also refused to disqualify himself from Mr. Saraki's trial. The Senate President and his lawyers had demanded that Justice Umar disqualifies from the case based on allegations that he harbors anti-Saraki sentiments.
With Thursday's ruling, the CCT, which resumes Saraki's trial on 7 and 8 November can complete the trial, which has been stalled by a combination of annual court vacation and the Senate President's deployment of technicalities to its progress. The trial commenced in September 2015.
Saraki's lawyer and former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Kanu Agabi, had approached the Court of Appeal citing 9 grounds of appeal and seeking an order of the court to halt Mr. Saraki's trial pending the completion of the appeal. But the judges' panel promptly turned down the request, forcing the defense to withdraw the motion to put the trial in abeyance, the court then asked the legal team to focus on their appeal while the trial at the CCT continues.