The Senate President has revealed that he will be present at the Code of Conduct tribunal tomorrow to face a 13 count charge brought against him after a last ditch attempt to stop the trial today failed.
Bukola Saraki’s lawyers had filed an ex parte motion at the Federal High Court on Friday asking the court to halt the trial but the court asked the respondents to appear in court today.
Following some uncertainty as to which court had superiority over the code of conduct tribunal and despite a bench warrant issued on him on Friday, his lawyers proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal rejected a motion by Saraki’s legal team who argued that only the Attorney General of the Federation had locus standii to institute such proceedings. Meanwhile, the code of conduct tribunal has issued a fresh bench warrant for the Senate President as his trial continued today.
An excerpt of a statement by his media team reads; “While the Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, had stated and maintained that he is ready to submit himself to due process of the law on any issue concerning him, he also believes that he has an inalienable right to resort to the same judiciary for protection when he feels his fundamental rights are about to be infringed upon.”
“The Senate President is a law abiding citizen and his absence from tribunal was based on legal advice he received from his counsel that it is not necessary for him to appear before the tribunal at this stage since the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the process of initiating the matter are being challenged before the federal High Court Abuja.”
“Following the adjournment for the determination of the motion on notice and the substantive suit before the Federal High Court to 30th of September and the appeal pending before the Court of Appeal adjourned to the 29th of September 2015, the Senate President has decided, as a law abiding citizen, to appear before the Tribunal in the interim.”