You’ve no power to order my arrest, Saraki tells CCT

THE Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, sitting in Abuja, yesterday, ordered the arrest of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki following his refusal to appear in court to face a 13-count criminal charge that was preferred against him by the federal government.

Bukola Saraki

The tribunal which is headed by  Justice Danladi Umar, directed the Inspector  General of Police, IGP, Mr. Solomon Arase and other relevant security agencies in the country to arrest the Senate President and produce him in court on Monday for arraignment.

Saraki was in the  charge before the CCT, marked ABT/01/15 and dated September 11, 2015, alleged to have falsely declared his assets, contrary to the constitutional requirement.

He was accused of deliberately manipulating the assets declaration form that he filed prior to his assumption of office as the Senate President, by making anticipatory declaration of assets.

The offence was said to have been committed while Saraki held sway as a governor.

Aside allegation that  he owned and operated foreign bank accounts while being a public officer, Saraki  is expected to explain before the CCT how he acquired some assets which the federal government believes were beyond his legitimate earnings.

Meantime, Saraki  who was billed for arraignment yesterday, refused to appear before the tribunal, even though he sent his team of lawyers, led by a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. J.B. Daudu, SAN, to file memorandum of conditional appearance on his behalf.
When his case was called up, one of his lawyers, Mr. Mahmud Magaji, SAN, notified the tribunal about the ruling by Justice  Ahmed Mohammed of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, which had on Thursday,  summoned the Ministry of Justice over the charge against Saraki.

Justice Mohammed had after he heard an ex-parte application by Saraki, also  summoned the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Umar and that of the  Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Mr. Sam Saba, to appear before him on Monday.

They were specifically asked to appear to show cause why an interim order of injunction stopping Saraki’s trial should not be granted.

Meantime, irked  by Saraki’s absence at the tribunal for the commencement of his prosecution yesterday,  the Ministry of Justice, prayed the Justice Umar-led panel to order for his arrest.

Moving the oral application for a   bench warrant to be issued against Saraki yesterday,  a  deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. M.S. Hassan, maintained that the accused person, “cannot sit in the comfort of his chamber and object to his trial in absentia”.

The prosecution further contended that Justice Mohammed lacked the powers to summon the CCT and CCB chairmen, even as it accused Saraki of engaging in “forum shopping” in a desperate bid to scuttle his trial.

Hassan argued that going by the provision of section 396 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015, Saraki, could only object to the trial after he had entered his plea to the charge against him.

“My lords, the provision of this section is clear to the effect that any objection to a charge shall be raised after plea, which means that the accused person must be in court and the charge read to him before any objection.

“Moreover, paragraph 17 of the Third Schedule to the 1999 constitution, as amended, empowers this tribunal to try the accused person”.

The prosecuting counsel described Saraki’s contention that he cannot be prosecuted in the absence of a substantive Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, as “a clear misconception of the law”.

He argued that the power to initiate criminal proceeding before any court or tribunal is not limited to the AGF alone, adding that  section 175 of the constitution provides that any officer in the office of the AGF is qualified to initiate criminal proceeding in any court of law or tribunal in Nigeria, except the court martial.

Placing reliance on decided case law in FRN vs Adeyemi, 2010, 10-NWLR, and section 2 & 4 of the Law Officers Act, the prosecution stres-sed that in the absence of a substantive AGF, the Solicitor General of the Federation could perform all the duties that were imposed by the law on the office of the AGF.

“We also rely on section 24(3) of the CCB &Tribunal Act to submit that the charge against the accused person is proper and competent.

“The Federal High Court lacks the power to compel this court before it. They are both superior courts of record with coordinate jurisdiction, and are both recognised by the constitution.   Appeals from this court go straight to the Court of Appeal.

“The Federal High Court does not have supervisory jurisdiction over this court. It only has power over inferior tribunals, not a court of competent jurisdiction as this court.

“The accused person cannot stop us from performing our constitutional duties. He cannot sit in the comfort of his chamber and say my lawyer will do it for me. This is a criminal case, not a civil matter.

“We therefore urge my lords to issue a bench warrant for the arrest of the accused person”, the prosecutor added.

BENCH WARRANT
Ruling on the application , the tribunal while upholding FG’s argument, stressed that Saraki,  having sworn to protect the constitution, ought to have shown respect to the tribunal by appearing before it today.

“I have taken notice of the fact that there is no incumbent AGF in office, but that does not preclude any officer from the Ministry of Justice from initiating this criminal proceeding “, Justice Umar held.

The tribunal noted that whereas the AGF has the sole right to exercise the power of ‘nolle prosequi’ (power to terminate charge), it said that such exclusive right does not include the initiation of criminal trial.

It further observed that Saraki was duly served with the charge and a notice to appear in court yesterday, on September 16.

“This tribunal is established under section 15(1) of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 constitution as a special vehicle vested with the powers to promote probity and accountability in the public service.

“This tribunal has coordinate jurisdiction with the FHC. In view of section 306 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, this tribunal cannot accede to the request to halt this proceeding. A superior court of record cannot issue an order prohibiting or restraining the proceeding of another court of equal status.

“This tribunal has called the defendant to come before it and stand trial. As a senior citizen he is expected to show respect to constitutional provisions which he has sworn to protect.

“The tribunal hereby orders the IGP or other relevant security agencies to arrest and produce the defendant for prosecution. In view of the foregoing, the tribunal orders a bench warrant to be issued against the defendant”, the court ruled.

Spirited effort by Saraki’s lawyers to persuade the tribunal to consider the position of the accused person as the Senate President and stay the execution of the bench warrant against him on the undertaking that he will be available for trial on Monday, failed flat yesterday.

SARAKI APPEALS

Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, Saraki, yesterday, went before the Court of Appeal   in Abuja to challenge the powers of the CCT to try him, as well as the refusal of the tribunal panel to discharge the bench warrant for his arrest.

In his one ground of appeal, Saraki, insisted that the trial tribunal erred in law and also acted without jurisdiction by countenancing and assuming jurisdiction over his criminal trial/ prosecution for a charge that is being challenged at the FHC Abuja in suit No FHC/ABJ/CS/775/2015, between him and the Ministry of Justice and 3 Ors.

He argued that the tribunal acted in disobedience to the order the FHC made on Thursday. Listing the particulars of error by the tribunal, Saraki, told the appellate court that “as at the time the lower tribunal overruled the appellant’s application to discharge the order for bench warrant for his arrest by the respondent, there existed an order of the FHC, Abuja, dated September 17, which was served in the lower tribunal, who were party to the suit”.

It was his argument that having filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal to adjudicate on the charge before it, he needed not to be present in court yesterday.

More so, Saraki, argued that the tribunal did not avert its mind to the decided case laws in Doma vs Ogiri, 1997, 1-NWLR, and that of Ojukwu vs Governor of Lagos state, 1986, 3-NWLR.

He therefore sought an order of the appeal court setting aside the order of arrest that was issued against him by the tribunal.

The embattled Senate President had in  a13 -paragraphed affidavit that was deposed to by one Efut Okoi, told the high court on Thursday that his trial was politically motivated.

He told the court that since May 29 when the life span of the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan expired, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari had yet to appoint an AGF.

“That upon assumption of office, President Mu hammadu Buhari has made several appointments ranging from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to Senior Special Advisers and Special Assistants.

“That I also know of fact that President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to appoint Ministers and other key Executive Officials.

“That is is also a fact that the Federal Ministry of Justice does not have an Attorney General/ Ministry of Justice yet”.

He argued that on September 14 when the 4th Defendant/Respondent (M.S. Hassan) took steps to initiate the charge before the CCT, he was never directed by any AGF to do so, since there exists no substantive AGF.

“That the charge pending before the CCT is predicated upon the falsehood that the plaintiff/applicant did not declare his assets in 2003, 2006 and 2011.