Dr. Olubukola Abubakar Saraki V Federal Republic Of Nigeria (2016)

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WALTER SANUEL NKANU ONNOGHEN, J.S.C.

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Holden at Abuja in appeal No. CA/A/551/2015 delivered on the 30th day of October, 2015 in which the could dismissed the appeal of appellant against the ruling of the Code of Conduct Tribunal in charge No CCT/ABJ/01/2015 delivered on the 18th day of September, 2015 in which the tribunal held that the criminal charge preferred against appellant was competent despite the absence of a sitting Attorney-General of the Federation and issued a bench warrant against appellant for his failure to appear before the tribunal and answer/plead to the charges preferred against him.

The facts of the case, as can be gathered from the record include the following:

Appellant was a two-term Governor of Kwara State, between May, 2003 and May, 2011. While in the said office appellant filed, as required by law, four asset declaration forms and submitted same to the Code of Conduct Bureau.

These forms were duly investigated by the Bureau and other relevant agencies of government as a result of which it was allegedly found that appellant allegedly corruptly acquired many properties while in office as Governor of Kwara State but failed to declare some of them in the said forms earlier filled and submitted to the relevant authorities. It was also allegedly discovered that appellant made an anticipatory declaration of assets upon his assumption of office as Governor of Kwara State which he acquired later. It was also alleged that appellant sent money abroad for the purchase of properties in London and that he maintained an account outside Nigeria while serving as the said Kwara State Governor. It was the discovery of these alleged violations of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers that the Code of Conduct Bureau initiated a criminal proceeding against appellant before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Hold at Abuja.

Upon serving of the summons on him, appellant filed a motion dated 17th September, 2015 before the Code of Conduct Tribunal Challenging the competence of charge No.CCT/ABJ/01/2015 and a suit each before the Federal High Court Holden at Abuja and Lagos in which he also challenged the validity of the criminal proceedings initiated against him at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

In the course of the proceedings in the tribunal on the 18th day of September. 2015 appellant contended that since there was no sitting Attorney-General of the Federation before of at the time charge No CCT/ABJ/01/2015 was filed before the tribunal the said charge was incompetent and that appellant would not appear before the said tribunal etc.

The tribunal overruled the objection of appellant and issued a bench warrant against appellant and adjourned the case to 19th September 2015 to enable appellant appear and take his plea but appellant did not so appear, resulting in the tribunal renewing its order or bench warrant and adjourned the matter to 22nd September 2015.

On 22nd September, 2015 appellant appeared before the tribunal in person as a result of which the charges preferred against ham were read to him and he pleaded not guilty thereto as a result of which the warrant of arrest/bench warrant issued against him was revoked, and appellant granted bail on self recognizance and the matter adjourned to the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of October, 2015 for hearing. It is important to note that appellant voluntarily appeared before the tribunal on the 22nd day of September, 20l5. His appearance was not on the execution of the warrant of arrest issued by the tribunal.

However, on the 2nd day of October, 2015, appellant filed an appeal against the ruling of the tribunal of 18th September, 2015 before the Court of Appeal in which the following issues were raised for the determination of the appeal.

1. Whether the Code of Conduct Tribunal was properly constituted when it sat on 18th September, 2015 with only two members.
2. Whether the Code of Conduct Tribunal was competent to issue bench warrant when it was not a court of criminal jurisdiction.
3. Whether the charge preferred against appellant before the Code of Conduct Tribunal when there was no sitting Attorney-General of the Federation was competent.
4. Whether the service on appellant of the summons for the proceedings of the 18th of September, 2015 was proper in law, and,
5. Whether the Code of Conduct Tribunal has the vires to ignore an order of the Federal High Court barring it from sitting or staying its further proceedings in the matter.

As stated earlier in this judgment, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal which resulted in the present further appeal before this Court the issues for the determination of which have been formulated by leading Senior Counsel for appellant, J.B. DAUDU, SAN in the appellants brief filed on 11/11.2015 as follows:-

”1. Whether the majority decision of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division was right in the interpretation of the Constitution when it held that the Code of Conduct Tribunal was properly constituted in law when it sat on 18/09/2015 with just the Chairman and one (1) other member in contravention of the provisions of paragraph 15(1) of the 5th schedule of the 1999 constitution as to exercise the powers and jurisdiction vested by the 1999 Constitution and if the answer is in the negative, whether the charge and the entire proceedings inclusive of the Ruling in issue is not null and avoid and of no consequence (ISSUE NO 1) (Grounds 1 and 2).

2. Whether the majority decision was right when it held that the Code of Conduct Tribunal is a Court of Limited Criminal jurisdiction competent and empowered to issue a Bench Warrant against the appellant in the event of his absence from the proceedings of the Tribunal (ISSUE No 2)(Ground 3).
3. Having regard la the cleat wording of section 24(2) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap C15 2004 whether the 13 count charge preferred against the Appellant by someone other than the Attorney-General of the Federation is competent (ISSUE No 3) (Ground 4).
4. Whether the majority decision of the Court of Appeal was correct in law when it held that notwithstanding the lack of proper service an the Appellant of the Criminal Summons to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal on the 18th of September 2015 such a vice was a mere irregularity cured by the appearance of the appellant at the proceedings regardless of the existence of Appellant’s conditional appearance on protest

(ISSUE No. 4) (Ground 5).

5. Whether the majority decision of the court below was right when it justified the refusal of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to obey the Federal High Court to appear before it and show cause why it should not order a stay of further proceedings on the ground that the order in issue was not one specifically asking the lower Tribunal to stay its proceedings (ISSUE No. 5)

(Ground 6)