Just in: Saraki announces attendance at  CCT-led trial today

– Re-states belief in the rule of law

– Announces application filed by his legal team

Senate President Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, seeks to inform the wider Nigerian public that as a firm believer in rule of law, he intends to totally submit himself to the due process of the law as the trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) begins today, Friday, March 11, 2016.

In a statement signed by Hon. Gbenga Makanjuola, the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President of the Senate, Saraki and his team of lawyers have earlier submitted an application to quash the illegitimate suit being brought against him before the CCT based on several alleged discrepancies found in his asset declaration form.

The statement read in parts:“As the Nigerian carefully follows the proceedings of the case, we must all be guided by the fact that a basic scrutiny of Section 3, Paragraph D of the Act that establishes the CCT and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) states in explicit terms that before any complaint(if any)  is forwarded to the CCBt for adjudication, the public officer against whom a complaint is made must be given the opportunity to either deny or admit the claims.

“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.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court rules against Saraki

“Secondly and more crucially, the application submitted by the Senate President draws attention to the fact that the 13-year-old declaration forms on which the majority of the impending suit is predicated, were examined and investigated by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) at the time of submission and were found satisfactory to the Bureau’s requirements at the time.

“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.”

The Senate President has expressed indignation that these confirmed forms which have rested in possession of the CCB for over a decade without issue are now being flagged.

It continued: “In this regard, as the trial begins, Nigerians should note that this outright non-observance of the rule of law, reaffirms the belief that this trial is borne from political mischief and malice associated with the timeliness and nature of this suit.

READ ALSO: Supreme Court Suspends Saraki’s Trial At CCT

“As the head of Nigeria’s legislative branch, Dr. Saraki is confident that justice will ultimately prevail and he is ready, willing and prepared to submit himself to all proceedings that adhere to the strict dictates of the law. He believes that the law must take its righteous course and reassures Nigerians of his commitment to serving the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The supreme court on Friday, February 5 dismissed the appeal of Bukola Saraki, the Senate president to stop his case at the code of conduct tribunal.

Also, on November 5, 2015, Saraki’s lawyers walked out of the CCT courtroom after the tribunal ruled that the trial must continue despite the pending appeal at the supreme court.

The Senate President  has been charged with 13 counts of false declarations when he was the governor of Kwara state.

The prosecution team led by Rotimi Jacobs had said it will produce 13 prosecution witnesses to testify in the case.