Supreme Court halts Saraki's trial on false declaration of assets

The Supreme Court on Thursday stopped trial of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who has been standing trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for false declaration of assets.


The court put the trial on hold pending the determination of the appeal filed by Saraki challenging the legality of his trial at the CCT.

The order stopping the trial was premised on an undertaking by the prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), that the tribunal would suspend the trial if the Supreme Court would grant an accelerated hearing of the appeal.
Jacobs told the panel of five justices presided over by Justice John Afolabi Fabiyi that nothing on the part of the prosecution would be done to prejudice the decision of the Supreme Court.
To ensure speedy hearing of the substantive appeal, Jacobs informed the court that he would file his brief next week Monday.

He urged the court to compel the appellant (Saraki) to also file his own brief within two days so that an early date could be fixed for hearing of the substantive matter on the case.

In his argument against the application by Saraki for stay of further proceeding at the tribunal, Jacobs submitted that no court of law in the country has the power to grant a stay of proceedings in any criminal matter in view of the introduction of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 (ACJA).

He specifically said Section 306 of the
Act had removed the discretionary and inherent powers of any court, including the Supreme Court to grant a stay of hearing in a criminal matter.

According to him, the motive of the legislature in enacting the ACJA was to bring to an end the usual delays suffered in the prosecution of criminal matters, which had led to the inability of the authorities to curb corruption.
However the argument by Jacobs that the Supreme Court had no power to stop proceedings of any lower court did not go down well with the justices who considered the pronouncement as an affront to the supremacy of that court.
Taking the hints from the judges, Jacobs made a U-turn by appealing to the justices not to make a pronouncement on the practicability of Section 306 of the ACJA.

He submitted that the decision of the Supreme Court might not augur well especially in the trial courts where such decisions could be abused by granting stay of proceedings even when there was no need for them.

Instead of making a pronouncement on the applicability of section 306 of ACJA, Jacobs appealed to the court to allow the two parties go into the main appeal instead of trading on stay issue.
He then gave the undertaking that the federal government would not do anything until the Supreme Court has made a final decision on the appeal.
Earlier, the counsel to Saraki, Joseph Daudu (SAN), who led seven other Senior Advocates of Nigeria to argue Saraki's case had urged the court to stop the proceedings at the CCT pending the hearing of the substantive appeal.
Daudu told the court that the appellant was challenging the jurisdiction of the tribunal and the legality of his trial at the tribunal.

Among others, Saraki claimed that the tribunal was not properly constituted with two members instead of three as required by law.

He submitted that the Supreme Court should put the trial at the CCT on hold pending the final determination of the main appeal.

Justice Fabiyi while ordering the proceedings at the CCT stopped, gave seven days each to both parties to file and exchange briefs of their arguments on the substantive appeal.

In line with the undertaking by Jacobs, the court ordered that nothing should be done at the CCT on the pending trial of the Senate president.

Justice Fabiyi announced that a date for hearing of the substantive appeal would be communicated to the parties as soon as it is fixed.

With the decision of the Supreme Court, the Senate president will no longer appear at the CCT on November 19 as earlier fixed by the tribunal Chairman, Mr. Danladi Yakubu Umar, for trial.
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 - Thisday