The trial of Senate President, Bukola Saraki continues today (Thursday, April 28) at the Code of Conduct Tribunal with the Chairman of the tribunal expected to rule on an application filed by Saraki seeking his withdrawal from the trial.
This was after the counsel to the Senate President, Mr Raphael Oluyede, on Wednesday told the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Mr Danladi Umar, that he lacked moral justification to preside over his client’s trial on an allegation of false declaration of asset.
He requested that he should disqualify himself from his trial.
Mr Oluyede, during the hearing, insisted that Mr Danladi was still under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the same agency that allegedly filed the criminal charges against him.
He alleged that it was obvious that the said investigation was used as a bait by the EFCC to get Mr Danladi to do its bidding.
He, therefore, asked the Chairman to excuse himself from the case, in the interest of justice and fair hearing.
Objecting the motion, the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, asked the Tribunal to dismiss the motion, claiming it lacked merit.
He accused the Senate President of harassment, citing a bill before the Senate attempting to amend the Act that established the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Mr Jacobs also described the issues raised in the motion as matters of sentiment which had no place in law.
He also accused the Senate President and his team of predicating the motion on the wrong assumption that the EFCC was the one trying the Senate President when it was the Federal Government.
To this end, he asked that the motion be discountenanced.
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