Breaking: Appeal Court orders Saraki to face trial on 3 charges
- The Court of Appeal in Abuja has ordered Senate President Bukola Saraki to face trial on three count charges
- Saraki is facing trial on false assets declaration
- But Saraki's legal team said it has concluded plans to appeal the three charges at the Supreme Court
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Wednesday, December 12, dismissed 15 out of the 18 counts of false assets declaration instituted against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Punch reports.
Legit.ng gathered that the three-man panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson unanimously ordered the Senate President to return to the CCT to face trial on three of the counts.
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The Senate President's legal team, however, said it had concluded plans to appeal the three other charges at the Supreme Court
Recall that in a unanimous decision, the two-man panel tribunal headed by Justice Danladi Umar, held that federal government failed to prove essential elements of all the allegations it leveled against Saraki.
Also recall that the tribunal held that oral and documentary evidence that the federal government adduced before it were discredited during cross-examination, saying that the proof of evidence was so ‘manifestly unreliable that no reasonable court or tribunal could rely on it to make any conviction.'
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had previously reported that the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Tuesday, November 14, decided to reserve its judgment on the appeal filed by the federal government to challenge the Code of Conduct Tribunal’s acquittal of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki.
The three-man panel of justices led by Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson took the decision after parties to the case adopted their appellant’s and respondent’s briefs. The report said the date of the delivery of the judgment would be communicated to the parties.
In his reaction to the appeal filed, Saraki said he was unperturbed by the government's position on his CCT trial judgement. He also said he was confident that the ruling of the higher court will not be anything different from the judgement given by the CCT.
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The Attorney-General of the Federation and minister of justice, Abubakar Malami, had on Wednesday, June 21, his commitment to the ongoing anti-corruption fight was responsible for his decision to authorise the appeal against the judgment.
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Source: Legit.ng
