Supreme Court Frees Saraki Of All False Asset Declaration Charges

The Supreme Court has upheld the appeal of Senate President Bukola Saraki and discharged him of the remaining three charges against him in the case of false declaration of assets.

The court upheld the appeal in a lead judgment delivered by Justice Centus Nweze on Friday in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Senator Saraki had filed an appeal at the apex court to challenge the ruling of the Court of Appeal which asked the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) to try him on three of the 18 counts brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Delivering judgment on Saraki’s appeal 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 testified in the matter and held that those who tendered documentary evidence against Saraki during the trial were not makers of the document, hence, their evidence on the documents were hearsay and lacked probative value.

The Supreme Court also held that the Court of Appeal made a caricature of its judgment when it found as a fact that the entire evidence presented by the prosecution was hearsay and manifestly unreliable and still went ahead to agree that prima facie case was established against the Senate President in three out of the 18 charges.

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