BREAKING: False Assets Declaration: CCT Discharges, Acquits Saraki

In a unanimous decision, Saraki was cleared of the charges as the two-man panel said the prosecution, FG, failed to provide evidence to support the charges.

Last Thursday, June 9, the Federal Government asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal to dismiss the no-case submission filed by Saraki, to fault the evidence led by the prosecution in relation to the 18 charges of false declaration of assets and other related offences preferred against him.

The Senate President had filed a no-case submission before the CCT on May 26, 2017, contending that none of the exhibits tendered and evidence given by the four prosecution witnesses linked him to the alleged offences to warrant him to defend the charges.

But arguing the Federal Government’s objection to the no-case submission on the prosecuting counsel, Mr Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said there was a ‘serious prima facie case’ against the Senate President.

Dismissing the case, Danladi Umar, chairman of the tribunal, held that the prosecution did not prove its case against the accused person.

A witness from the Code of Conduct of Bureau (CCB), which filed the charges on behalf of the government, even said that the agency did not conduct an independent investigation before filing them.

Before the Wednesday’s ruling, Saraki had tried to stop the trial and even approached the Supreme Court to have the charges quashed, but the apex court returned him to the tribunal.

In adopting the defendant’s written addresses on the final address before the CCT, the lead defence counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), had said the petition which precipitated the charges had nothing to do with his client.

Agabi said the charges, especially counts 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 16, had disclosed no valid offences.

Agabi argued that the failure of the prosecution to disclose the name of the said authorised persons in the charges had rendered the charges invalid.

He also said two of the prosecution witnesses, Mr. Samuel Madojemu, an official of the Code of Conduct Bureau, and another operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Michael Wetkas, had only given hearsay testimonies as evidence.

But Jacobs said, “One method your lordship should adopt to show that there is a serious prima facie case against the defendant is to look at exhibits 6 and 26 which are assets declarations made by the defendant after the investigation of this case.

“My lordships will see that the defendant listed all the properties and stated that they were acquired in 92 and 99 and, now. If My Lord juxtaposes them with exhibits 1 to 5, some of the properties he claimed (were) acquired in 1999, 2002, and 2003, were not declared.”