Court Dismisses Saraki’s Application, Says He Should Go And Face Trial
A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has dismissed the application of Senate President, Bukola Saraki, seeking that his ongoing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) be put to an end.
In his application to the court, Saraki had described the trial as a breach of his fundamental human rights enshrined in Section Four of the 1999 constitution and an obstruction to his duties at the National Assembly.
The embattled Senate President is standing trial for alleged false declaration of asset while he was governor of Kwara state and fraud.
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Justice Abdul Kafarati, in his ruling, asked Saraki to go and face his trial at the Tribunal, adding that the court cannot interfere with the case.
Kafarati held, “It appears to me all that the applicant is trying to do is to stop his criminal trial at CCT. The CCT is a competent court to try the criminal matters.
“This court cannot interfere with the case at the tribunal which has power to try cases.
“It is not appropriate for the applicant to approach this court. This case is hereby dismissed.”
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Recall that on March 22, Kafarati had withdrawn from the suit filed by Saraki to quash the charges, saying that his integrity had been called into question in the matter.
He made his decision after reading a report of an online medium accusing him of corruption.
He said that if he ruled against or for Saraki, his decision would be interpreted differently.
But in a reaction, the chief judge of the federal high court, Ibrahim Auta prevailed on Kafarati to rule on the matter.
