THE Supreme Court of Nigeria has just discharged the Senate President of the false assets declaration charge preferred against him by the Federal Government.
In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Centus Nweze, the apex court held that the evidence produced by the prosecution to prove the charge against the Senate President was based on hearsay.
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In a lead judgment delivered by Justice Centus Chima Nweze, the apex court set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal and affirmed the decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) which had earlier upheld Saraki’s no case submission argued on his behalf by his counsel, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN).
The CCT had in its judgment discharged Saraki of all 18 count charges brought against him by the Federal Government on grounds that the prosecution failed to prove its allegations beyond reasonable doubt.
Saraki had challenged the December 12, 2017, judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which gave the Federal Government the nod to re-open the criminal charge it preferred against him.
A three-man panel of Justices of the Appeal Court. led by Justice Tinuade Akomolafe-Wilson held, in a unanimous that Saraki had a case to answer before the CCT in respect of three out of the 18-count corruption charge the Federal Government entered against him.
The appellate court panel of Justices then directed Saraki to return to the tribunal to defend counts 4, 5 and 6 of the amended charge, having dismissed 15 counts of the charge on the premise that they were not supported with credible evidence capable of warranting the Senate President to be called upon to enter his defence to them.
Count 4 and 5 of the charge alleged that the Senate President made false declaration of his assets at the end of his tenure as Executive Governor of Kwara State in 2011 and on assumption of office as a Senator in 2011, when he declared that he acquired properties at No. 17A and No. 17B McDonald, Ikoyi Lagos on September 6, 2006, from the proceeds of sale of rice and sugar.
In count-6, the Federal Government alleged that Saraki made false declaration of his assets at the end of his tenure as Governor of Kwara state, when he failed to declare his outstanding loan liabilities of N315, 054, 355.92 out of the loan of N380, 000, 000 he obtained from Guaranty Trust Bank Plc.
But delivering judgment on Saraki’s appeal yesterday against the decision of the Court of Appeal, the apex court held that the prosecution failed to call material witnesses to support its case against the Senate President.
The court agreed that all those who have knowledge of facts were not called to testify in the matter and that those who tendered documentary evidence against Saraki during the trial were not makers of the document and hence their evidence on the documents were hearsay and lacked probative value.
The supreme court said the Court of Appeal made caricature in its judgment when it found as a fact that the entire evidence adduced by the prosecution was hearsay and manifestly unreliable and still went ahead to agree that prima facie case was established against Saraki in three out of the 18 count charges.
Justice Nweze held that there was no basis for the Court of Appeal to have asked Saraki to defend himself on the three count charges, having found the entire evidence of the prosecution as a product of hearsay, adding that the action of the Court of Appeal amounted to forensic summersault and capable of making ill of jurisprudence.
“This court will not lend its jurisdiction to such a charade and caricature of justice. It carries grave error in holding that a primafacie case has been established against the appellant”, the court held and added that “The prosecution is duty bound, by law to call all key witnesses to be able to establish the primafacie case against anybody”.
In all, the five-panel of the apex court in the unanimous judgment agreed that the failure of the Federal Government to call vital witnesses in the trial of Saraki was fatal and rendered the trial nugatory.
Consequently, the court dismissed the entire charges brought against Saraki, discharged and acquitted him accordingly.