From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Hearing in the appeal filed by the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki against his trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) was stalled following the inability of the justices of the Court of Appeal to form the constitutionally required quorum to hear the case.
The appeal was scheduled to be heard yesterday but only three justices sat as against five justices required by law.
Following the development, the presiding Justice, Moore Adumein adjourned further hearing till Thursday, June 2, 2016.
In court, Kanu Agabi represented the Senate president while Mr. Rotimi Jacobs appeared for the Federal Government.
Saraki is challenging the jurisdiction of the Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal to try him on the 16-count criminal charge, preferred against him by the Federal Government.
The charge borders on his alleged false/anticipatory declaration of assets, money laundering, operation of foreign accounts while in office as the governor of Kwara State and allegation that he collected salaries as a governor, four years after his tenure had elapsed.
The Senate president, through his legal team led by a former Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, is praying the appellate court to set aside a ruling the tribunal delivered against him on March 24.
In the said ruling, the tribunal held that it has the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine the case against him.
The two-man panel tribunal equally declined to stay further hearing on the matter to await the outcome of the appeal.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, through its lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, also filed a cross-appeal against the ruling of the tribunal.
The Federal Government is contending that the tribunal failed to make findings on its argument that Saraki’s motion constituted a gross abuse of judicial process.
It was the position of the government that since the issue of jurisdiction was earlier decided by the Supreme Court on February 5, following an appeal by the defendant, the tribunal ought not to have entertained another application on the same issue.
The matter was adjourned by the appellate Court to enable Saraki’s lawyer study Federal Government’s response to the substantive appeal.
Agabi had prayed the court for 14 days adjournment to enable him to study the process as he claimed it was just served on him by Federal Government.
Katsina probe panel: Chairman threatens to quit
From Agaju Madugba, Katsina
Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry set up by Katsina State Government to probe the immediate past administration in the state, Justice Muhammadu Ibrahim Siraj has threatened to quit.
He complained following what he called unnecessary objections by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counsel at the sitting.
He ordered that substituted means be used to serve former governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema along with a former commissioner for finance, Lawal Ahmed Jari, to enable them appear before the panel.
The order followed an ex-parte application by counsel to the commission, Ahmed Liman arguing that all efforts to serve the two persons to respond to allegations of financial impropriety against them failed.
Ruling on the application Siraj ordered that the notice of summons be published in two national newspapers as well as served in their residences in Katsina and Kano.
The PDP had earlier lost its bid to stop the commission from sitting as the party’s counsel, Aliyu Ahmed, challenged the legal status of the commission. Ahmed had argued among other issues, that the commission was not properly constituted, that an APC flag at the venue of the sitting constituted an element of bias and that the chairman is not competent to be a member of the commission since he is a serving judge of the Plateau High Court.
But dismissing the six points contained in the PDP application, the chairman contended that the commission was properly constituted by Governor Aminu Masari, using the Katsina State Commission of Inquiry Law and the members swore to an oath and that they had terms of reference to work with.
He also said there were no provisions in the law stipulating that only indigenes of Katsina State can serve on the commission as Siraj further held that the Katsina State government duly applied to the governor of Plateau State before he was released for the assignment, apart from an approval by the National Judicial Council.
He also dismissed as frivolous, an allegation of possible bias because of the APC flag flying at the Local Government Service Commission, venue of the sitting.
According to Siraj, it was not unusual for the APC to have its flag on public buildings in the state being the ruling political party.
The chairman had earlier threatened t
“I don’t have to be here,” Siraj warned, adding that, “I will leave and go back to my state and continue with my job.”
Among other issues, the commission is expected to probe an alleged N70 billion said to be missing from the coffers of government during the past administration and also determine the extent of loss government suffered through the acts of public officers in the state between 2011 and 2015.
The commission adjourned further hearing to June 14, 2016.