At the inception of the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki for alleged breaches in asset declaration at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), I sounded it loud and clear that the case was not about infraction of any law but political persecution and victimization of Saraki due to the manner he emerged as Senate President, which was against the interests of some party leaders of the APC. Besides, of all leaders of the APC who had serious allegations of corruption leveled against them, including Rotimi Amaechi who was indicted by a Rivers State Commission of Enquiry for multi-billion naira theft, it was only Saraki that was put on trial.
And the way the trial has been conducted so far has validated my view, that in fact, Dr. Saraki is a victim of the internal power-play and politics of the APC. The Tribunal Chairman Mr. Danladi Umar, who himself was under investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) until recently, has not demonstrated sufficient fairness in the manner he has handled the case to give one confidence that he is not a tool to achieve the predetermined goal of bringing down the Senate President.
In my opinion, Mr. Umar’s antagonism towards the defense, body language and general conduct during the trial do not suggest that he is a fair and impartial referee as anyone who has followed the case closely can attest. At one point in the trial, he threatened to jail Ajibola Oluyede, one of Saraki’s counsels. Oluyede’s offense was that he filed a motion asking Umar to disqualify himself because, in his view, the investigation by the EFCC of the Chairman had compromised him, making him likely to be bias against the defendant.
The counsel argued that the CCT chairman is considered to be a willing tool at the hands of the executive arm of government, which was responsible for his employment, particularly as he himself was under investigation from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). This infuriated Umar, who flared up and threatened to send the lawyer to jail. Of course, he did not disqualify himself from the case but has gone on to make more controversial decisions.
One of these is the decision that the trial of the Senate president should hold daily. At first glance, there is nothing unusual about this since the new Administrative of Justice Act makes provision for it to ensure speedy trial of suspects. But a curious fact is that of all the cases before the tribunal, it is only that of the Senate President that is going on a day-by-day basis.
There are three on-going cases at the CCT, including that of the Senate President. The other two are those of the Godsay Orubebe, the former minister of Niger Delta and a certain Rasheed Taiwo, a former customs officer, both of whom like Saraki are before the tribunal for alleged breaches of the Code of Conduct Law. Of all the cases, however, it is only the trial of the Senate President, Dr. Saraki that takes place daily. It is imperative to therefore ask: why the special treatment in the case of Saraki? Is the law longer blind and respecter of no person, whether rich or poor?
While I concede that it is within the authority of Umar to decide on the nature and speed of the trial, what troubles me is the special interest the tribunal Chairman appears to pay to the Saraki case at the expense of other equally important matters. If it is because he wants to see the cause of justice served quickly, why is he not equally interested in concluding other cases before him? For instance the trial of Mr. Taiwo, the former customs officer, has been on-going for about three years since 2013 when it started. The Orubebe case has suffered several long adjournments. The last one was for one month from April 19th to May 20th. This seeming lack of interest in the Orubebe matter by Justice Umar had irritated his lawyer Larry Selekeowei (SAN), who openly told the judge that ‘no case is more important than the other.”
As far as I know, in the history of criminal justice system in Nigeria, the trial of Dr. Saraki is the only case that has gone on daily. What this suggests to me is that there is plan to be deny him the opportunity to preside over the Senate while the trial last, and thereby deprive him of the responsibilities and privileges of his office.
I am fairly certain that Saraki and his legal team would not mind a speedy trial if they are sure of justice being served in the case. But nothing has happened in the court gives anyone an assurance that will be the case. The double standards, intemperate display by the judge and his penchant for unwarranted emotional outbursts, do not give hope that justice will be served at the end of the day.
That would clearly be sending the wrong signals both to Nigerians and members of the international community about the nature of our judicial system. It would also defeat the intent in the age-old dictum that justice must not only be dispensed but must be seen by all-defendant, prosecutor and the general public at large- to be done.
More importantly, the conduct of justice Umar would in a way help to undermine the credibility of the fight against corruption in the country as there will always be that nagging doubt as to the validity of convictions obtained by the state in other trials of suspects.
Okoroafor, a public affairs analyst, sent this piece from Abuja.
