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The police yesterday declared that they were awaiting orders to effect the arrest of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki. The Senate President was billed to be arraigned before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) sitting in Abuja yesterday, but he failed to turn up, relying on an injunction he purportedly secured from a federal high court.

The development angered the Justice Danladi Umar-led tribunal, which promptly ordered that the police or other relevant security agencies should produce the Senate President before it on Monday. The Senate President is being accused for false and improper declaration of the assets he allegedly acquired during his tenure as governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

QReacting to questions posed by newsmen yesterday, Force Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Olabisi Kolawole, said the police would arrest Saraki as soon as they got the necessary directive from the tribunal. “We are going to promptly arrest the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, and produce him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Monday. Since it is a bench warrant issued by a competent court, the order will be carried out without delay. But we don’t want to pre-empt anything,” Kolawole said.

The tribunal gave the orders while ruling on arguments by prosecution lawyer, Muslim Hassan of the Federal Ministry of Justice and defence lawyer, Mahmud Magaji (SAN). The tribunal refused an assurance by one of Saraki’s lawyers, Joseph Daudu (SAN) that he will produce Saraki before the tribunal on the next adjourned date, insisting that it was inappropriate for the tribunal to reverse itself, having ordered Saraki’s arrest.

Hassan had, at the commencement of proceedings yesterday, noted that Saraki was absent in court despite being served with summons in relation to the 13-count charge filed against him for allegedly violating the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal (CCB/T) Act. Hassan consequently urged the tribunal to direct the issuance of a bench warrant to allow the production of Saraki before the tribunal. In the alternative, he urged the tribunal to stand the case down for some time to allow Saraki’s lawyer prevail on him to appear.

Magaji countered Hassan’s position and urged the court to discountenance the prosecuting counsel's application on the ground that he lacked the locus standi to file the charge and that the tribunal has no jurisdiction to hear the case. Citing Section 24(2) of the CCB/T Act, Magaji argued that it was only the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) or any official of his office he authorised that could legitimately initiate such criminal proceedings.

He contended that since there was no AGF yet, no official of the office of the AGF could legitimately initiate proceedings against anyone. Magaji also argued that his client’s presence was unnecessary at this stage because he was currently challenging the competence of the charge and the tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear the case. He equally drew the tribunal’s attention to the case his client filed before the Federal High Court, Abuja and the order it made asking the respondents, including the CCT, to show why they should not be restrained from proceeding with the case.

Responding, Hassan argued that the powers granted the IGP under Section 174 of the Constitution was not absolute. He cited several decided cases by the Supreme Court to support his position that without a substantive AGF, officials of the office and the Solicitor General of the Federation (SGF) could legitimately initiate proceedings against any accused person.