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From Fred Itua and Godwin Tsa, Abuja
SENATE President, Dr. Bukola Saraki returned to the dock yesterday with prosecution witness, Micheal Wetkas, a staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), telling the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) that some bank documents relating to account opening and other financial transactions of the Senate President were destroyed by fire.
This is even as the Saraki filed a fresh application to stop his ongoing trial on charges of alleged false asset declaration.
He is currently facing criminal trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) over his alleged falsification of assets when he served as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
Answering questions on the alleged transfer of funds into a foreign account, the witness said Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) swore to an affidavit and obtained a police statement that there was an inferno and documents burnt included those relating to Saraki’s foreign transfers.
“We made a request to the bank to furnish us with additional evidence and documents to show the execution of some of his financial transactions. However, several of these instruments and telex were furnished by the bank but others were missing due to fire outbreak. There were police report and affidavit that some of the documents were burnt,” Wetkas said.
He, however, was unable to show the tribunal a copy of the affidavit.
Wetkas who was cross-examined by Saraki’s counsel, Mr. Paul Usoro, said his investigation team did not have documents relating to Saraki’s foreign accounts, including account opening documents and statements of account.
“We do not have documents relating to his foreign accounts but from our investigation we discovered that he operates a foreign credit card which is like a foreign account,” the witness told the tribunal.
He said although Saraki was charged with operating foreign accounts, the EFCC never had the opening package and financial statement of the alleged foreign account.
Wetkas was cross-examined based on count 11 of the charge, which borders on foreign account operation when Saraki was governor.
When asked which bank issued the foreign account to the defendant, he said American Express Bank, New York. But the document before the tribunal indicated Standard Chartered Bank, New York.
Asked whether he investigated the American Express Bank, New York, Wetkas said he only investigated card account.
Meanwhile, in a fresh application dated April 20, Saraki asked the tribunal chairman, Mr. Danladi Umar, to disqualify himself from the trial on the basis that the latter is allegedly under criminal investigation by the EFCC.
The application was filed before the CCT by Mr. Raphael Oluyede, who has not been part of Saraki’s defence team before the tribunal.
Oluyede was the lawyer who filed the case seeking to stop Saraki’s trial but which was dismissed by Justice Abdu Kafarati of the Federal High Court in Abuja last Friday.
However, the EFCC handed Umar a clean bill of health on the alleged N10 million bribery allegations made against him.
A non-governmental organisation, the Registered Trustees of the Mission for Peace and Development Initiative had instituted a lawsuit against him through its counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome before a Federal High Court in Abuja for allegedly demanding a bribe from a retired Comptroller of Customs, Rasheed Taiwo, to quash the case against him at the tribunal.
Besides the lawsuit, the CCT chairman was under investigation by the anti-graft EFCC over the issue based on a petition it received from one Abdul Rashid Owolabi.
But in a letter made available to Daily Sun by the Head, Press and Public Relations of the CCT, Ibraheem Al-hassan, with reference No: EFCC/P/NHRU/688/V.30/99, dated April 20, 2016 and addressed to the Secretary to Government of the Federation [SGF] entitled: “Re: Investigation Report Re: N10m Bribery Allegations against the Chairman Code of conduct Tribunal, Abuja,” Umar was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Daily Sun can also authoritatively reveal that the invitation issued to the CCT chairman by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions has been withdrawn, even as the EFCC arraigned Ali Abdullahi, Umar’s personal assistant, on a two-count charge for allegedly providing false information to the EFCC during the commission’s investigation of a case of false asset declaration by Owolabi.
In a related development, members of the upper legislative chamber rose from a three-hour closed-door meeting yesterday and announced the suspension of the ongoing amendment of the Code of Conduct Act and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and to stand by the Senate President in his trial.
The Senate also stepped down the report of the Ethics Committee on Kabiru Marafa, Senator known to be opposed to Saraki.
Yesterday’s secret meeting was presided over by Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu.
“The Senate in a closed-door session discussed a number of issues affecting the smooth working of the Senate. I’m happy to announce to our colleagues and the entire nation that after exhaustive deliberations and being sincere to ourselves, we decided to put behind us all things that have divided us since the inception of the eighth Senate and work as a united Senate in the best interest of our country.
“We agreed that this Senate should stand and we do stand by the Senate president in his trial until proven guilty by the court in accordance with our constitution and democratic practices all over the world,” Ekweremadu announced after the closed-door session.