TheCable

The Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) has expressed happiness with the judgment of the supreme court dismissing the appeal of Senate President Bukola Saraki to stop his trial for alleged false declaration of assets.

On Friday, the apex court dismissed the five grounds of Saraki’s appeal against a previous judgment of the appeal court quashing his prayers to stop the trial.

Speaking with TheCable, Ibrahim Alhassan, spokesman of the CCT, said the trial of the senate president would now continue, but that the chairman of the tribunal and a member would study the judgment and fix a date for the resumption of trial.

“The trial will continue from where it stopped‎. We just have to respect the judgment of the supreme court at that time it ruled we should stay action, and we did stay action. The expectation was for us to wait until the determination of the case which happened today, ” he said.

On when the trial will continue, he said: “It is not an individual decision. The chairman along with the other‎ member will have to sit down and study the scenario and decide on a date the trial will continue.

“Certainly, I assure you the case will continue. What stalled it was the order of supreme court, but now it has given us the go ahead.

“We must be happy. It is all about the institution of the CCT, and not about an individual. If the judgment had gone the other way round, our jurisdiction would have been stunted‎, and we will not have the capacity to continue with our tasks. Everybody should be happy, especially now that we are in the era of fighting corruption.”