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Senate President Bukola Saraki’s battle to prevent his appearance before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) collapsed yesterday as he made up his mind to appear before the tribunal set up to hear his case.

His lawyers, Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Adebayo Adelodun (SAN), argued passionately against his appearance at the CCT where he is charged with alleged false declaration of assets, but the tribunal restated its order that the Inspector General of Police and other security agencies should arrest Saraki and produce him before the tribunal at 10am today.

The Court of Appeal, Abuja before which Adelodun argued an ex-parte application for an order setting aside the warrant of arrest issued on Friday against Saraki refused the application. It ordered Saraki to put the respondents on notice and fixed September 29 for the hearing of his substantive appeal.

At the Federal High Court, Abuja where Adelodun equally argued another motion on behalf of Saraki, for an order restraining the CCT and the Ministry of Justice from proceeding with the Senate President’s trial, Justice Ahmed Mohammed refused to grant the order. He adjourned till September 30 for the hearing of Saraki’s pending substantive suit and the objection filed against it by the respondents.

At the resumption of proceedings yesterday before the tribunal, prosecution lawyer Rotimi Jacobs (SAN) on noticing that Saraki was absent, urged the tribunal to inquire from his lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), why his client was absent despite the undertaking he gave on Friday to produce Saraki in court today. Jacobs said he prevailed on his client not to execute the bench warrant on account of the undertaking by Daudu. He said he was taken aback that Daudu failed to fulfill his promise. When asked by the tribunal Chairman Justice Danladi Umar why his client was absent despite promise to produce him, Daudu said he was not sure the tribunal actually expected him to produce his client.

He said his client would not appear before the tribunal because he was challenging the tribunal’s jurisdiction to hear the charge and that the tribunal was not properly constituted in view of the absence of one of the three judges.

Daudu argued that since the Code of Conduct Bureau/Tribunal Act (CCB/TA) provided that the tribunal must comprise three judges, including a Chairman, it was illegal for it to sit with just a member and a Chairman.“Whatever is being done here is illegal. I will not want my client to be part of this illegality. You are sitting illegally. Let us put a stop to this,” Daudu said.

Daudu also urged the tribunal to stay proceedings and await the outcome of an appeal his client filed against the tribunal’s ruling of Friday in which it ordered Saraki’s arrest for not attending proceedings.

He also argued that the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) 2015, which makes it compulsory for every accused person to first submit himself or herself before a court and take plea before raising an objection to a charge, was not applicable to the tribunal.