There were
indications at the weekend that the charges of false assets declaration,
preferred against Senate President Bukola Saraki, by the Code of Conduct Bureau
(CCB), Samuel Madujomo, may be amended again.
This, it was
learnt, was in apparent reaction to what was the performance of the CCB witness
at the hearing said to have been perceived as unimpressive at the hearing of
the suit. So far, the prosecution has twice amended the charges against Saraki.
When the trial of the Senate President commenced in 2015, the prosecution
slammed a 13-count charge against the Senate President but, midway into the
trial, the charges were amended from 13 to 16 and amended again to increase the
charges from 16 to 18 in February 2016. Inside sources in the Office of the
Attorney General of the Federation and the CCB reporters at the weekend that following
the confirmation by Madojemo, who is the Head of Investigation of the CCB, that
Saraki actually declared his assets, including those of his wife and children,
the Federal Government was considering amending the charges before the next
sitting of the Code of Conduct Tribunal on April 5. The Head of Investigation
in the CCB had, during cross examination, affirmed that the Senate President
actually declared his assets as required by law.
The witness
admitted that Saraki’s assets were recorded in the Assets Forms he submitted to
CCB at various times. Led in the cross-examination by Saraki’s counsel, Paul
Erokoro (SAN), Madojemu was made to read out the list of assets declared by
Saraki in his name, those of his wife and his children, when he held office as
Kwara State governor and upon his assumption of office as a senator. The
witness told the tribunal that the investigation, which led to the arraignment
of Saraki in 2015, was actually carried out by the operatives of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He noted that his role and those of CCB
were limited to the review of the EFCC’s report and compared same with the
defendant’s Assets Declaration Form. He added that he was invited orally to
join a team that reviewed the EFCC report and compared the asset form of
Saraki, and that CCB had no written report on the outcome of the revision of
the EFCC.
*Vanguard*
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