The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, has struck out an application by the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, seeking to halt his ongoing corruption trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). Saraki had approached the court asking it to compel the CCT to stay proceedings on his trial pending the determination of another application he filed before the appellate court.
Saraki is being accused for alleged false and anticipatory declaration of assets when he was Kwara state governor. The tribunal had recently ruled that it had the jurisdiction to try him, a verdict the Senate President is now challenging at the Court of Appeal. Saraki’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi, who made the application, informed the court on Monday, April 25 of his client’s desire to withdraw the said application for stay of proceedings, but prayed the court to speed up hearing into his client’s main application.
“In the motion, dated April 4, we prayed your lordship to stay proceedings at the CCT pending the hearing of our appeal. But we now want to urge your lordship to grant accelerated hearing to our appeal,” he said. Saraki had approached the court after the application to halt his trial at the CCT was dismissed on March 24. At Monday’s hearing, the court adjourned the substantive matter to a yet to be announced date.
