On September 22, 2015, the Nigerian Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki finally turned himself in and answered the summon of the Code of Conduct Tribunal(CCT) over a 13-count asset declaration and corruption charge filed against him by one M.S Hassan, a deputy director in the office of the Attorney General of the federation. The Senate President was accompanied by 50 senators, a scene that one can bet would never have been imagined by the court. As it is everywhere in the world, people are known to be deserted by everyone that surrounds them when they step into or in Saraki’s case, get pushed into troubled waters. Wondering how and why he did not get left in the lurch by his fellow senators? Then you need to seek to know how and why he was made the Senate President by this same set of senators. Maybe people don’t desert you in difficult times if they weren’t in the first place, lying to you during good times and most especially when they truly understand the roots and reasons that birth the difficult times.
On the mentioned day, he was made to enter the accused box where he pleaded not guilty and said he was being persecuted. The case was then adjourned to October 21 of the same year. Fast forward to October 21, the CCT’s preparedness to not only receive the Senate President but 50 other members of the hallowed chambers as it last happened was again defeated as 81 senators followed their leader to the court on the same day that legislative proceedings including screening of ministerial nominees of President Buhari was put on hold.
Subsequently, the Senate President also instituted legal proceedings against his arraignment at the CCT at the court of appeal after which many other suing and counter suing, petitions and counter petitions from Saraki and the Federal Government started to fly all around the legal world. As it is with the judicial system of the country, lots of court adjournment started coming up here and there which got well extended into the next year and years beyond.
While all this happened, the higher and commanding arm of the government which is indeed being led by a general turned commander, having all the resources and apparatus of the state within his reach waged different kinds of wars on individual members of the second arm of government which is the legislature, in a manner that is expected of a general whom even though is retired is still unwilling to totally imbibe the full and undiluted spirit of a truly democratic president. As the battle between these two arms of government continued, the masses continued to groan in pains of the persistent economic suffering which is the expected resultant effect of a government that is more concerned with dealing with imaginary enemies and also busy looking for enemies where non exists at the expense of fulfilling its electoral promises.
The killings all over the country continued, the economy continued to nosedive. In some other place, the not so many members of the ruling party in the Senate who are not in support of the Senate President continued to make their efforts to pull him down and the higher majority who are with their leader both within and without the ruling party continued to stand by him, the president continued his tour of the globe, the state governors continued to owe the workers their salaries for months and while all this happened, Bukola Saraki continued weathering the storm of his political battles.
In June 2017, Danladi Umar led the CCT to terminate Saraki’s trial upon an application by the Senate President where the entire 18 counts preferred against him were all dismissed. The CCT said its decision was based on the grounds that the prosecution, with its 4 witnesses and 49 exhibits tendered, only led hearsay evidence which could not be the basis to link Saraki to the charges brought against him. There was jubilation and celebration in the camp of the Senate President albeit it was not to last for long as the Court of Appeal in Abuja on December 12, 2017 restored three out of the 18 counts earlier dismissed at the CCT and ordered Saraki to return to the same CCT to defend the 3 charges.
Saraki proceeded to the Supreme Court to appeal against the part of the Court of Appeal’s decision to restore three of the 18 counts and one had to wonder why, before the blink an eye, the Federal Government also cross-appealed against the part of the decision affirming the tribunal’s dismissal of the rest of the 15 counts.
Days grew into weeks and weeks into months, the hide and seek game between the executive and legislative lingered with Saraki being the prime target of not only his political opponents but also that of the security instruments of the state at their disposal.
Then came July 6, 2018, the Supreme Court finally laid to rest the trial of the Senate President in a unanimous decision which upheld Saraki’s appeal and consequently dismissed the Federal Government’s appeal. The Apex court in its final judgement declared the evidence led by the prosecution as hearsay.
At long last, there comes victory, victory that has been viewed in many quarters as not only for The Senate President but for the legislative body at large, for the rule of law, for democracy and perhaps a victory for justice in itself.
It is a more like a norm in politics as it is with every other human endeavor that involves the battle for control to have opponents and sometimes it is not unusual to have this opponents engage in dirty antics and go to any length to win the battle, what is not common however is to have this opponents from within your own political party, a party that was supposed to be nurtured into stable growth by all and sundry.
It is common knowledge that what comes to mind when the term “political opponents” is mentioned in relation to a politician is supposed to be members of an opposition party, it has however proven not to be a common pattern with Saraki. We have seen many politicians come and go, we are bound to also witness more political rivalry in its different shades but not often do one see a man so calm in the middle of the storm like Bukola Saraki, not often shall one see such a resilient and dodged fighter who even though has been brought up to be a fighter on his own, still has many in his support that stood by him all the way.
He has fought like no other and he consequently won like no other. He ran the gauntlet like no other and truly if one is to say something about him today, you can just say Bukola Saraki walks on water.