I Was Cracking A Joke When I Said I’ll Jail Senators, Journalists With Hard Labour – CCT Chair

Recall that Umar had made the threat to Senators attending court sessions in solidarity with Saraki, adding that if jails them, nobody will question him.

The whole incident happened when the chairman became infuriated over alleged ‘rude’ comments from senators and other supporters of Saraki seated in the court gallery, who repeatedly asked Rotimi Jacobs SAN, prosecution counsel, to “sit down.”

“If I hear anybody ask the counsel to sit down, I will deal with the person and nobody can question me about it. In fact, I will hold the person in contempt and sentence the person to hard labour and nobody will question me,” he had said.

He went further to speak on a newspaper publication which said he adjourned the trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki indefinitely.

He said “Journalists should be punished for publishing falsehood, it is a criminal offence.

“If not that we are under a democratic setting, I would have advocated for the retention of Decree No. 2.

“Just because they want to sell their papers and make money‎ they publish falsehood,” he noted.

However, in a press statement yesterday, Public Relations Officer of the Tribunal, , urged the public to regard the statement as a joke made in good faith and not to obstruct the practice of journalism in the country.

The statement read: “The statement by the Chairman was made out of joke, not to intimidate any member of the Fourth Estate of the Realm in this country from observing their statutory functions as mandated by the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as anchored in liberal democratic society like ours.

“The Chairman only cracked the joke following his discovery that some media organisations had in their report claimed that his tribunal had adjourned the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki on false declaration of assets indefinitely.

“The Chairman in his remarks without any bias or hatred said in the open court that the publication of adjournment sine die, meaning indefinitely adjournment was not true reflection of the decision of the tribunal when the adjournment issues was decided.

“We wish to state that the CCT Chairman as a law-abiding citizen recognises the role assigned to media practitioners by law and would not do anything to hinder the media practitioners from doing their legitimate jobs.

“It is also on record that there has been no conflict between the media and the CCT on one side and Chairman on the other side with the media practitioners since they have been covering the high profile trial on the Senate President.

“The Tribunal therefore appreciates the conducive working atmosphere of the media and the establishment and would not do anything that would hamper the smooth and cordial relationship between the two.

“Similarly, we also wish to state that the Chairman never threatened our distinguished senator but only cautioned the people on the gallery to behave and to stop interjecting into the proceeding of the tribunal.

“The Chairman’s caution was informed by complaint from the Federal Government Lawyer, Mr Rotimi Jacob that he was been shouted down by some people from the gallery prompting the chairman to caution that whoever exhibit unruly behaviours would be made to face contempt of the tribunal.”