FG increases charges against Senate President, Bukola Saraki before CCT

The Federal government has amended and increased the charges leveled against senate president, Bukola Saraki, before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

At the resumed hearing of the case today, counsel to Saraki, Kanu Agabi, notified the tribunal that his client has just received fresh charges added to the existing ones and that his client will want to enter plea for the fresh charges.

Saraki is being tried at the tribunal on allegations of false declaration of assets during his tenure as Kwara state governor.

In the meantime, the third prosecuting counsel in the case, Samuel Madujemu who is the Chief Administration Officer at CCB, today told the tribunal that Saraki upon assuming office as Kwara state governor, made his first assets declaration on September 16th 2003. According to Madujemu, a joint investigative team involving the CCB, Federal Ministry of Justice and the EFCC, discovered that Saraki falsely declared his assets that year. ”

After we discovered that there were some discrepancies, we commenced further investigations into the matter. One of the discrepancies we discovered had to do with false declaration and none declaration of some assets and some liabilities”.

The witness told the tribunal that Saraki under-declared some assets he acquired in 2006. For instance, he told the tribunal that Saraki declared two properties he bought in Lagos and left out two others. While reading from one of the assets declaration forms marked as exhibit-3, Madujemu said

“My lord what I see here is No17a and 17b Mc Donald Street Ikoyi which the defendant acquired with a bank loan in 2006. No 15a and 15b Mc Donald Ikoyi which he also acquired in 2006 was not included in the assets he declared”.