Inyene Victoria's Blog

‎The propriety of the 13-count criminal charge against the Senate President, Dr. Olubukola Saraki has created a sharp division among Appeal Court Justices. Whereas Justice Moore Adumein dismissed the appeal that was lodged by Saraki as lacking in merit, another member of the panel, Justice ‎ J.E. Ekanem upheld the appeal, declaring the charge before the CCT as incompetent. Justice Ekanem specifically quashed the charge and discharged Saraki on the basis that the Deputy Director at the Ministry of Justice, M. M. S. Hassan who signed the charge, did not specify who authorised him to initiate the ‎criminal proceeding. “A look at the charge showed that Mr. Hassan instituted the action pursuant to section 24 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, 2004 which permits only the Attorney General of the Federation to initiate criminal proceedings”. Justice Ekanem stressed that though the constitution permits the Solicitor-General of the Federation, SGF, to commence crimi...

Recall that the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court, both sitting in Abuja refused to grant the senate president Dr Bukola Saraki shield  from being arraigned at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, on a 13-count criminal charge bordering on false declaration of assets preferred against him.

The Federal Ministry of Justice has asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja to issue bench warrant for the arrest of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki. A deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. M.S. Hassan, applied for the arrest order following Saraki’s refusal to appear before the tribunal to enter his plea to the13- count corruption charge against him. ‎Saraki who was billed for arraignment this morning, sent his team of lawyers to serve the tribunal with a copy of the ruling of Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, which summoned the Ministry of Justice to appear on Monday