Senate President, Bukola Saraki has arrived for his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) with 80 lawyers, reports say.
Saraki’s legal team is being led by Kanu Agabi and includes six Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN).
“We shall win as there are 80 of us on this side,” Agabi is said to have stated before reading out the names of all the lawyers on the team.
Saraki’s trial was shifted from March 11, 2016, to today due to a delay in serving a motion challenging the Tribunal’s jurisdiction on prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs.
CCT President, Danladi Umar shifted
the trial after urging the defence to ensure that all motions and
processes are served on time in order to avoid a further delay of the
trial.
Saraki had, on March 11, appeared at the premises of the tribunal in the company of about 30 Senatorsand was reportedly represented by 66 lawyers.
“As
it stands, Nigerians must ask why this fundamental and indispensable
condition for a trial at the CCT has not been followed. What this means
is that the condition precedent mandates that Dr. Saraki, as every other
citizen of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is entitled to, should have
been given the opportunity to explain any perceived inaccuracy, but he
was never given the opportunity to do so," he wrote via a statement released by his Deputy Chief of Staff, Gbenga Makanjuola.
"Given
that for 13 years, all the documents from the senate president’s asset
declarations from 2003, 2007 and 2011 were accessible by the Bureau for
investigation. Saraki’s application states that the condition precedence
should have been drawn to it, to give the senate president the
opportunity to explain and address any identified issues.
Angola's death toll rises to 158 - WHO
There has also been an increase in malaria, cholera and chronic
diarrhoea in Luanda and other cities, partly due to a breakdown in
sanitation services and rubbish collection, health officials say.
A yellow fever outbreak in Angola
that began late last year has killed 158 people, up from 50 a month
ago, as deaths from the disease transmitted by mosquitoes accelerate, a World Health Organisation official said on Friday.
There
has also been an increase in malaria, cholera and chronic diarrhoea in
Luanda and other cities, partly due to a breakdown in sanitation
services and rubbish collection, health officials say.
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