The Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has lost a move to have charges of false assets declaration levelled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) dropped.
The Herald recalls that Saraki is being tried on a 13-count charge bordering on false declaration of assets during his stint as Governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.
In an application through his counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), on Thursday at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Saraki had prayed that his trial be discontinued on the grounds that the CCB did not give him the opportunity to explain the inconsistency in his assets declaration form before dragging him before the Tribunal.
Dismissing the application, Danladi Umar ruled that by law, the defendant still had the opportunity to clarify the inconsistency at the tribunal level, so the law was not breached.
Umar backed up his ruling with reference to the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, 1989, saying that the Tribunal was statutorily enabled to receive complaints of breach of the Act from the CCB, provided it (CCT) will make provisions for the accused to either confirm or deny the alleged breach.
In the same vein, he quoted section 3 (e) of the 3rd schedule of the 1999 constitution to back up his ruling that the bureau could refer complaints of such nature to the tribunal.
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