The trial of Bukola Saraki

By CHIKA NWABUEZE

Embattled Senate President Bukola Saraki might be getting more than he bargained for as the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) commences his trial for alleged false declaration of assets when he was governor of Kwara State.
When the Senate president appeared before the tribunal on September 21, the 13-count charge was read to him and he pleaded not guilty, his trial was then adjourned till October 21.
Supporters of Saraki have alleged political motive behind his corruption trial, however, as it stands now the Senate is divided over the issue. While the anti-Saraki senators are beginning to see a new Senate leadership emerging, the pro-Saraki lawmakers are said to be poised in ensuring that the Senate president goes nowhere despite the trial. Sources disclosed that even though they are optimistic, they have a second plan which is to also produce the next leadership in the event that Saraki goes down. But this is unlikely given the dynamics of power.
Already, there have been calls for Saraki to resign as Senate president so as not to give the National Assembly a bad image in view of his trial. The calls are believed to be orchestrated by Saraki’s detractors who have been recruited in the larger plot to get him out of office. According to close sources, the calls for Saraki’s resignation will get more strident in the coming days and as the trial progresses, and will eventually lead to the call for a no confidence vote to be passed on him.
The Senate president tried albeit without success to stop his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal on the ground that there is no Attorney General of the Federation to prosecute the case as provided for in the constitution. Both the High Court and Appeal Court which he approached rejected his plea, a situation that left him with no other option than to appear before the tribunal after he failed to do so twice.
Saraki has been finding it difficult to stabilize as Senate president in view of the plethora of problems confronting him since his controversial election as president of the red chamber on June 9, 2015, against the wish of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Since the alliance with the 57 senators mainly of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) threw up his leadership, Saraki has been battling to assert his control over the Senate as opposition against his leadership gets even stronger from the mainstream APC ranks led by Ahmed Lawan.
Apart from the investigation of his wife, Toyin Saraki, for alleged money laundering offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Saraki also came under police investigation for alleged forgery of the senate rules following which Ike Ekweremadu, a PDP senator, got elected as deputy Senate president in a National Assembly where the APC is in majority.
Again, Saraki is facing legal action in the court as some aggrieved APC senators have approached the court to declare his election as Senate president illegal because of the alleged faulty process that brought him and Ekweremadu into office. Not only that, just recently, the EFCC declared Kennedy Izuagbe, a former director of Societe Generale Bank and Managing Director of Carlisle Properties and Investment Limited, wanted over a case of conspiracy and money laundering to the tune of over N3.6 billion. The company is owned by Saraki.
When contacted to comment on the Federal Government and Saraki case, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, the former governor of Kaduna State, told Business Hallmark that it is a PDP, APC problem. “They are fighting among themselves; they belong in the same class. If political leaders are quarrelling among themselves that is their problem”, he stressed.
Though President Muhammadu Buhari promised to work with the leadership of the National Assembly during the crisis that engulfed the Senate and House of Representatives following the emergence of Saraki and Yakubu Dogara as president and speaker, respectively, against the APC zoning arrangement, however, he emphasized on the supremacy of the party.
Indications that Buhari might not be happy with Saraki emerged when the Senate president’s wife was quizzed by the anti-graft agency for alleged money laundering offences while she was first lady of Kwara State. The argument was that while Buhari might have nothing against Saraki’s emergence as Senate president, he is upset by the election of Ekweremadu, a PDP senator as deputy Senate president under Saraki’s influence.
Senator Shehu Sani captured the mood of the APC lords when he said that it is disheartening that after fighting hard to take power from the PDP, the APC would now come to share power with the same PDP. It is even worse that Saraki in collaboration with the clerk of the Senate had to bend the Senate rules to pave way for the emergence of Ekweremadu after he struck a deal with the PDP senators. These the APC leadership viewed seriously, said a source.
Business Hallmark reports that this is the first time the CCT has charged a Nigerian official with false assets declaration. However, Saraki through his media office has denied the allegations by CCT. In a press statement, Saraki said all the allegations were false, incorrect and untrue. However, Saraki told journalists that he remains focused in his duties and is unshaken by the charge which is coming 13 years later, describing it as mischievous.
“This is why we are of the opinion that the present effort is a desperate move initiated due to external influence and interference. It should also be noted that Dr. Saraki as governor of Kwara State never operated a foreign account.
“It should be noted that we do not know on whose authority these charges are filed when the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act clearly indicate that any prosecution must be authorised by an attorney general and we know the nation last had an AG in May 2015. This is another clear indication that the CCT is acting under influence from outside its domain and therefore ready to bend the rules to achieve this obnoxious objective.”
A chieftain of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, said in a telephone chat with Business Hallmark that what is happening in the Senate, especially with Saraki, “tells you the kind of people governing us now. The present day politicians are greedy and care about themselves alone.”
He pointed out that Saraki should submit himself to the rule of law and face the court because he is not yet found guilty since what is before the tribunal is just mere accusation which must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Senator Lekan Balogun on his part told Business Hallmark that the issue of asset declaration was simple, adding that Saraki has nothing to fear if he believes that what he presented to the Code of Conduct Bureau was correct. He argued further that some of them have foreseen the present scenario but not sure when it would show up and never thought it could come so soon. He said it would affect his image.
Chief Abimbola Makanjuola, a chieftain of the PDP in the South West region, said in an interview that Saraki is paying the price for not toeing the party’s line. He added that this kind of thing was bound to happen in a situation where people struggle for power and supremacy. He argued that with the way things are going, Saraki could be jailed if found guilty or asked to relinquish his position as soft landing.
Dr Fredrick Faseun, the founder of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) in his reaction, said as far as he was concerned, he is not amused by what the APC leader is facing, while pointing out that he has always talked against the way the present day politicians take Nigerians for a ride.
He argued that Saraki should not do anything to circumvent the court processes, adding that if he is eventually found guilty and removed that he would not be the first to be impeached because others before him had gone through similar fate.
A lawyer, Jiti Ogunye, is of the view that Saraki now has a bigger responsibility to obey the law and not to be disobedient, stressing that the problem he is now facing since he has entered the dock could lead him to prison if found guilty.
Meanwhile, the presidency has denied having any hand in the trial of Saraki, describing it as a judicial process.