Senate President Bukola Saraki says Tuesday’s ruling by the Court of Appeal freeing him from 15 of 18 charges has vindicated him. The charges were preferred against the senate president by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Saraki said the court’s decision to uphold a no-case-submission on 15 of the 18 count charges confirmed his innocence.
"At least, today’s judgment has confirmed the position of the tribunal that the prosecution’s case was entirely based on hearsay, not on any concrete evidence,” he said in a statement.“The verdict of the Court of Appeal, just like that of the tribunal before it, aligned with our position that the preposterous claims made during trial by the prosecution concerning operation of foreign accounts, making anticipatory declarations, collecting double salaries, owning assets beyond his income and failure to declare assets owned by companies in which the Senate President owns interests, among others, have fallen like a pack of cards and lack any basis.
"On the remaining three counts, which really touch on two issues, referred back to the tribunal for the Senate President’s defence, it should be noted that the Appellate Court only gave a summary of its decision today promising to provide the parties with Certified True Copies of the judgment soon. As soon as it makes the details of the judgement available, our lawyers will review the grounds of the decision and take appropriate action.
"We remain convinced about the innocence of the Senate President on the three ( or two) counts because we believe the decision of the Court of Appeal is not consistent with the submissions made by both parties at the tribunal. Thus, it is our view that that aspect of the judgment will not stand.”