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CCT Appeal: Senators Vow to Back Saraki, Accuse FG of Witch-hunt

Some members of the Senate are spoiling for a fresh battle with the Presidency over the decision by the Federal Government to appeal against the judgment of the Code of Conduct Tribunal which acquitted President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, of a false and anticipatory declaration of assets when he was governor of Kwara State.

Punch reports that the senators, who spoke in different interviews, said the matter of the appeal would be raised when the National Assembly resumes from break.

The lawmakers are to resume on July 4, 2017.

While describing Saraki’s trial as a political witch-hunt, the lawmakers said the appeal against the CCT judgment had clearly shown that the executive was out against the legislature.

This is just as Saraki on Friday said he remained unperturbed by the appeal.

“This appeal against the CCT ruling is nothing but another attempt to grandstand and embark on another media trial without any substance. This is why the Senate President is sure it will be another exercise in futility,” a statement on Friday by the Special Adviser to Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuph Olaniyonu, said.

The CCT had on June 15, 2017, discharged and acquitted Saraki of all 18 charges preferred against him.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, through a private prosecuting counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), and a lawyer in the AGF office, had on Tuesday filed 11 grounds notice of appeal against the acquittal, describing the CCT’s judgment as unreasonable.

Speaking to Punch, the Deputy Minority Whip, Senator Abiodun Olujimi, described the appeal of the CCT ruling by the AGF as another move to waste the country’s time and resources.

She stated that the issue would be raised at the Senate when the lawmakers resumed from break.

Olujimi, who is a member of the minority Peoples Democratic Party caucus and representing Ekiti South Senatorial District, maintained that the legislature would take a step on the matter after resumption.

She said, “I think the APC is a party that has failed to put its house in order. I don’t understand it (the appeal) at all because the CCT absolved him; what are they going to get from the Court of Appeal?

“The CCT looked thoroughly at all the issues before making the pronouncement. Why are they wasting taxpayers’ money on such? And I think they will also regret it.

“I am sure that when we resume, we will send a strong signal to show that if there is no understanding between the arms of government, the government cannot make progress.

“I don’t know why they want to drag down Nigerians and box them with frivolous suits, which will never take anybody anywhere. We will do that as soon as we resume.”

Also, Senator Danjuma La’ah (PDP, Kaduna-South), said the Senate would express its grievances with the executive on the trial when the legislators returned from break.

He asked why the Federal Government would go ahead to appeal against Saraki’s acquittal at the CCT when the Federal Government failed to file an appeal against the acquittal of a former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, by the same tribunal.

La’ah said, “The appeal by the Federal Government is a witch-hunt; the government only wants to bring down our Senate President. They are fighting with every tooth and nail to make sure they stop him from contesting. He has not declared that he wants to contest (for the Presidency), so why are they bothering themselves? To tell you the fact, this issue is between the Acting President (Yemi Osinbajo) and Tinubu.

“We have our way of interacting and showing our concerns to the executive, and that will happen when we resume. We will not relent. We stood by him (Saraki) to the end, but they are not happy.

“Tinubu was given the opportunity (by not appealing against his acquittal by the CCT) even though his case was worse than that of the Senate President. I see no reason why the Senate President should not be given the same opportunity.”

A member of the APC from the South West, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, blamed the prosecution for losing the case against Saraki at the CCT.

“I don’t think the prosecutors were well-equipped. They had a bad case and they messed up their case. You cannot blame the judges; the prosecution gave the defence the room to manoeuvre because they (the prosecution) did not come with empirical evidence,” the official said.

Meanwhile, Saraki, in the statement, said he was confident that the verdict by the appellate court would not be different from that of the tribunal as the facts of the case remained the same and the grounds on which the decision of the CCT was based remained unassailable.

The Senate President also alleged that there were forces in the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration and collaborators outside the government who were bent on “pulling him down.”

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Copyright 2017 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

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