Saraki And The CCT

On the website of the Senate, it is clearly stated that only 47 out of the total 109 senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria were in attendance when Bukola Saraki was “unanimously elected” as Senate president. To compound matters, a forged Senate Standing Order was used that day for the so-called election. That is the crux of the matter that is still pending in court. That is also the dubious foundation of the current Senate leadership whose legitimacy is still suspect. Since then, the Senate has been in one form of crisis or the other. The current Senate is also one institution that has been turned into the personal instrument of one man – Saraki.

Otherwise, how can anyone justify the fact that when Saraki’s wife was invited for questioning by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), many senators not only followed her there but also Saraki’s Senate went ahead to initiate an “investigation” into the activities of Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, the immediate past EFCC chairman under whom Mrs Toyin Saraki was invited? It means that the Senate is now fighting the battle of one man and is ready to be used to protect him and his family against any corruption charges that are going to come and for as long as this regime is going to fight corruption.

Just as the dust of the EFCC investigation of the Sarakis was about to settle, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) had reasons to invite Bukola Saraki himself for false assets declaration and gross misconduct, offences that were committed while he was Governor of Kwara State but was not prosecuted because the last administration did not give a damn. There was nothing Saraki did not do to stop his trial by the CCT. He went to three different courts all of which declined to stop this trial. In the end, he had to be docked by the CCT but he was not honourable enough to resign from his exalted seat to clear his name, so as not to bring the Senate as an institution to disrepute. Instead, each time he is going on trial, the Senate had to stop its sitting for him. How ridiculous and for how long?

Then, like it happened with Lamorde’s EFCC, some spurious allegations were made against the person of the CCT chairman, Justice Danladi Umar, through a two-for-one-kobo petition. Immediately, the Senate and its new appendage, the House of Representatives, initiated another so-called “investigation” of the CCT chairman. How can the Senate reduce itself so low as to be used to investigate someone before whom Bukola Saraki is standing trial for gross misconduct? It is becoming simply untenable and it gives credence to the fact that the Senate has been hijacked by an alliance of criminals in and out of the Red Chamber and is being used to give protection to corrupt ones so as scuttle the anti-corruption war of the Buhari-Osinbajo administration.

Justice Danladi Yakubu Umar, the CCT chairman, is not new to evil machinations of corrupt officials. Even in the last administration, there was nothing that was not done to see that he was removed. As late as March 23, 2015, a week before this year’s presidential election, Anyim Pius Anyim, the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) wrote a letter to the then Minister of Justice and Attorney-general of the federation, Bello Adoke, on a report of the EFCC regarding a N10million bribery allegation against the CCT chairman and “to seek your advice on the submission in order to enable government take appropriate action”. Attorney-general Adoke replied that the process of removing the CCT chairman was “tedious”. This is the same issue now that the “Anti-corruption Network” agents of corruption, those who wrote the petition to the Senate, are asking the Senate to “investigate”.

The EFCC investigated the same allegation against Justice Umar and did not find him guilty in the last administration. This was long before the current Senate leadership came to office. Even in the regime of impunity, as the last administration is universally acknowledged to be, the current CCT chairman was not removed; how can he be removed now in the anti- corruption era, especially given the fact that the environment is now conducive for the Tribunal to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials who were being shielded before? In any case, how can an accused, in this case Bukola Saraki, initiate an investigation of the judge who is trying him, especially given the fact that, in this case, the Senate is just reacting to the prosecution initiated by the CCT? And the President, Chief Justice of Nigeria as well as the National Assembly are just watching this charade? This is bringing bad image to Nigeria. It is simply bizarre.

Nigeria’s democratic process is on trial. The whole world is watching. The whole media hype organised to tarnish the good image of the CCT and its chairman cannot remove the fact that someone who became Nigeria’s No.3 citizen through universally acknowledged fraudulent means is on trial for corruption and that is why a constitutional institution like the CCT is being destroyed in the court of public opinion. The Senate owes it as a duty to ask its leadership to resign until this trial establishes its guilt or innocence; otherwise we would all know that our lawmakers are also law breakers.

There is nothing wrong with anyone being proud, especially if he or she has something to be proud of. But arrogance is the greatest destroyer of any human being. Arrogance, after all, was what destroyed the devil himself. Arrogance was what led to the Senate leadership to disregard laid-down rules, flout its own Standing Orders by forming more committees than the number stipulated in its own Standing Orders, and to disregard the rule of ranking, all in order to satisfy some vested interests.

How long can this continue? This arrogance is destroying the Senate and is set to destroy the whole national edifice if not checked immediately. However, those who are asleep should wake up to the fact that the days of impunity are over and we will defend the change we voted for. History, we remember, is always on the side of the oppressed.