Court rules today in Saraki’s case

•CCT: Orubebe’s case with us

Justice Abdul Kafarati of the Federal High Court, Abuja, will today rule in a fundamental rights’ enforcement suit by Saraki, through one of his lawyers, Ajibola Oluyede.

Saraki’s contend that his right to fair hearing was breached by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) by not first, inviting him to either deny or admit the alleged irregularities in his asset declaration forms, before a charge was filed against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

He asked the court to, among others, quash the charges before the CCT and restrain the tribunal, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other respondents from further arresting or prosecuting him on the issue.

While adopting his client’s final written address this month, Oluyede urged the court to grant the reliefs sought by the Senate president, arguing that his client’s trial was instigated outside the CCB.

Respondents’ lawyer Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) objected, urging the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it was an abuse of court process.

He noted that similar issues were determined by the Supreme Court, which ordered Saraki to submit himself for trial before the CCT.

Jacobs argued that Saraki was inviting the Federal High Court to review an issue determined by the Supreme Court, the court should not allow itself be led into sitting on appeal over a decision of the nation’s apex court.

The CCT said yesterday that the false assets declaration case involving ex-Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godsday Orubebe had not been withdrawn by the CCB.

CCT’s reaction followed media reports yesterday that the case was withdrawn for being fundamentally defective.

The reports insinuated that a similar scenario would likely play out in the false assets declaration suit against Saraki.

Tribunal’s spokesman Ibraheem Al-hassan said, in a statement yesterday, that the prosecution amended the charge against Orubebe and re-arraigned him on March 8.

“The case of Godsday Peter Orubebe before CCT in Charge NO: CCT/ABJ/02/15 is still on. What transpired in the last session on March 8, 2016, was a substitution of the initial charge with a new charge by the prosecution, for which leave was sought from, and granted by the tribunal. Thus, there is no withdrawal of the case by the prosecution,” Al-hassan said.