“I am the Senate President and I have respect for the rule of law. Mr. Chairman, I observed that they have made reference to the good work the Senate has done in the administration of criminal justice. If there is an allegation of false declaration of assets, the Code of Conduct Bureau shall refer the person involved to the tribunal after giving the person an opportunity to explain if the facts are true. But in this case, I was not given the opportunity.
“I thought the CCB should have called me and given me the right to fair hearing. I am hearing about the charges for the first time. We are all here and the whole world is watching when we said we are in new Nigeria. I want to state here that I am not guilty.”
After the theatrics that preceded his entry into the dock on Tuesday, Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki gave the above lecture to the Code of Conduct Tribunal before taking his plea.
After the defense counsel's argument that the tribunal lacked the powers to entertain the matter had been countered by the prosecution counsel, the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Danladi Umar ruled that he had jurisdiction over the case. His words.
“It is in the view of the tribunal that the trial before it is criminal in nature and it has jurisdiction over criminal matters. The defendant should therefore proceed to the dock.”
As Saraki grumbled his way to the dock, he wondered why the tribunal had chosen to be ignorant of the conditions under which an accused could be brought to trial.
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