Justice Abdul Aboki of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division has reserved judgement in the appeal filed by the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, against his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
Saraki is contending in the appeal that he was not invited by the Code of Conduct Bureau to make Clarification on his asset declaration form before charges were filed against him at the tribunal.
During the hearing of the appeal on Wednesday, Chief Kanu Agabi, counsel to Saraki, told the court that the statement of his client must be part of an indispensable evidence before the tribunal.
Agabi said: “If you bring an accused to court without his statement, it can do damage to his case.
“A pre-action notice is not unconstitutional.
“The tribunal had been told to apply the same procedure it adopted in similar cases.
“If you sanction the attitude that inferior court can depart from their decisions, it will be a bad precedent.
“Legislation is subject to judicial challenge.
“If it is a precedent, my client can’t be treated differently.
“Failure to follow his earlier decision is fatal to the case of the accused.
“This action is filed in the interest of Justice.
“This action was filed 13 years after the case was filed.
“It is not in the interest of justice that you bring a man to court 13 years after he had left office.
“Only the CCB can file action at the CCT and not the EFCC or ICPC.”
The Counsel to the Federal Government, Rotimi Jacob, told the court to dismiss the appeal.
Jacob said: “I urge this court to hold that this appeal lacks merit and should be dismissed.
“Once the CCB finds an infraction in an asset declaration form, the onus is on the defendant to prove his innocence before the tribunal.
“The issue of fair hearing does not appear in this case.”
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