After Supreme Court clearance, Saraki’s corruption trial to resume March 10

The Code of Conduct Tribunal has issued notice to resume the trial of President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, on March 10.

The spokesperson for tribunal, Ibrahim Alhassan on Friday said the body had issued and served notice of hearing on parties to the matter.

The office of the Attorney General of the Federation had dragged Mr. Saraki before the tribunal, slamming 13-count charge of false assets declaration, anticipatory declaration of assets and other abuses on him.

The prosecutor said the offences violated Nigeria’s Code of Conduct for public officers.

Mr. Saraki, who has denied any wrongdoing, had challenged the tribunal’s jurisdiction and constitution up to the Supreme Court which struck out his appeal last Friday.

The notice of resumption of trial was, therefore, sequel to the Supreme Court ruling which upheld Mr. Saraki’s trial at the Tribunal.

The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and lead prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, had asked the Tribunal to issue date for resumption of Mr. Saraki’s trial, following the Supreme apex court’s ruling.

One of Mr. Saraki’s counsel, Ahmed Raji, SAN, said he was not aware that a notice of resumption of trial had been served.

“May be the notice was served at either the chamber of J.B. Daudu or Mahmud,” Mr. Raji told PREMIUM TIMES, in reference to other defence lawyers.

Messrs Daudu could not be reached Friday night. He did not answer or return multiple calls made to his telephone.

The lead prosecution lawyer, Rotimi Jacob, did not also answer or return calls seeking comments.
Mr. Saraki’s media assistant, Bankole Omishore, also said he had no details on the matter.

Mr. Saraki was docked by the Code of Conduct Tribunal on a 13-count charge on September 18 for alleged corruption and false declaration of assets.

He was specifically accused of deliberately manipulating the asset declaration form he submitted prior to his assumption of his current position as senate president.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges even as he subtly attributed his predicament to his emergence as senate president on June 9 against the wishes of his party, the All Progressives Congress.

Source: http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/198359-supreme-court-clearance-sarakis-corruption-trial-resume.html

Mother of three vomits cocaine at Abuja airport

Saidat Hassan, 48, and mother of three children, on Friday, allegedly vomited 15 wraps of white powdery substances that tested positive for cocaine at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

This is contained in a statement by Ofoyeju Mitchell, Head, Public Affairs of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA). 

According to the statement, the incident took place at the Central Screening Section of the Departure Hall during screening of passengers on Egypt Airline flight to Jedda, Saudi Arabia en-route Cairo.

It said she was apprehended by officers of NDLEA who discovered that she had ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes. 

Mr Hamisu Lawan, Commander, NDLEA Abuja Airport, was quoted as saying that efforts were made to protect her from any harm resulting from drug ingestion.

“As soon as we discovered that the wraps she vomited tested positive for cocaine, we took measures to ensure her safety by preventing any harm that may result from drug ingestion. 

“While under observation, she excreted sixty-five (65) similar wraps. In all, she ingested 80 wraps of cocaine weighing 904 grammes; her case is under investigation.” 

Retred Col. Mohammad Abdallah, the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, who expressed satisfaction with the arrest, said her action negated every principle of good parenting.

“This is gross ineptitude on the part of a mother saddled with the responsibility of nurturing her children into future leaders. 

“I am glad that she did not die from drug ingestion to face trial. 

“Besides escaping the risk of swallowing cocaine, this arrest also saved her because drug trafficking in Saudi Arabia is punishable by death. 

“She will soon be charged to court because the law must run its full course. I expect the general public to learn lessons from this case that drug trafficking leads to pain, ignominy and untimely death.

“My approach to drug control is both pragmatic and scientific. Every action taken must be based on best global principles; while lessons learnt will influence our implementation strategies in our day to day operations. 

“The agency will continue to sensitise members of the public by presenting facts and figures of drug trafficking as well as the larger picture of its ruin and devastation”, Hamisu said.

The statement also said Hassan, a native of Idiroko, Ogun State, who resides in Lagos Island, claimed to be a business woman dealing in clothing materials. 

According to her, “I am a business woman and I sell women clothes at Balogun market. I used to buy my goods from Ghana. I was introduced into the drug business by a friend and business partner.

“The drug was brought from Abidjan, Ivory Coast and we were to share the proceeds equally. 

“Until my arrest, I never knew that the cocaine I ingested would have led to my death in Saudi Arabia. I thank God for keeping me alive.” 

NAN recalls that a female drug trafficker, Ifeoma Daniel, who hails from Abia State, vomited wraps of cocaine at the departure hall of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Ikeja, Lagos in 2007. 

She later died as a result of cocaine bust. 

Daniel, aged 29, was said to have died after one of the wraps of drugs she ingested burst while preparing to board an Ethiopian airline heading for Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

She had ingested 79 wraps of substances that tested positive for cocaine with a weight of 1.32 kilogrammes.

Why we sanctioned Wike’s election – Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Friday gave reasons for its January 27 judgment upholding the election of Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.

 The apex court said the decision was informed by its findings that the petitioners at the tribunal – the candidate of the All progressives Congress (APC) in the election, Dakuku Peterside and his party – failed to prove their case of malpractices and non-compliance as required.

A seven-man panel of the court, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, held that the election petitions tribunal and Court of Appeal, which earlier voided the election, were wrong to have based their decisions on the petitioners claim that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials’ failed to adhere to the commission’s manual, guidelines and directives on the exclusive use of the card reader for accreditation and the hearsay evidence presented by the petitioners.

The court reiterated its position that card reader was not a sufficient replacement for manual accreditation. It further held  non-compliance with INEC’s manual and guidelines by its officials in the conduct of election was not a sufficient ground to void the election.

The apex court also believed that Peterside and his party failed to discharge the burden of proof placed on them having listed alleged misconduct including violence, disenfranchisement and non-compliance with election guidelines.

The court held that the tribunal denied Wike and his party, the right to fair hearing by allowing a wrong panel to deliver ruling on an application they filed, challenging the competence of the petition.

Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, while giving reasons for the position she took in the lead judgment, held that it was wrong for Justice Suleiman Ambrosa, the later chairman of the tribunal, to have chaired the panel that delivered the ruling on the application by Wike and PDP when he was not the chairman when the application was argued.

Of the 11 issues considered in the appeal, Justice Kekere-Ekun resolved seven in favour of Wike and the PDP and four in favour of Peterside and APC who were listed as respondents in the appeal marked: SC/1002/2015.

The issues resolved in favour of Peterside and APC were those related to preliminary issues of service and locus standi.

Source: The Nation