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Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, appears before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja, over allegations of operating foreign accounts while in office

What promises to be an epic legal battle began last Tuesday, September 21, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, Abuja, when Ahmed Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, was arraigned in court over the allegations that he operated foreign accounts during his tenure.

However, the trial commenced on a shaky note because Alex Iziyon, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and counsel to the federal government in the matter, announced that he was replacing a charge filed against Tinubu on March 23, with a new set of charges.  

 Tinubu’s legal team of 25 lawyers led by Wole Olanipekun, SAN, did not object to the replacement of the charges against their client. They only argued that since they were served with the new charges a day before the court sitting, they needed time to look at them before they can file their response. They also questioned the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to hear the case.

The judges agreed with the argument of the defence lawyers. Danladi Umar, the presiding judge, who also led two other judges, averred that the issue of jurisdiction was fundamental and should take precedence over arraignment. In their ruling, the judges said: “We cannot proceed if we do not have jurisdiction. We have to give the defendant time to read the new charge and then come to take the objection and if the objection is not sustained, then we can proceed on defender’s trial.” With a directive that Tinubu should file his response to the new charges within 14 days while the federal government takes five days to reply on point of law, Justice Umar announced an adjournment of the case to October 26.

Two people will be presented as witnesses against the former governor of Lagos State when the case resumes in October. The first will be Salisu Garba Abubakar, from the Code of Conduct Bureau Headquarters in Abuja, while the second will be Ibrahim Magu, a staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in Abuja. Their names were listed in the charge sheet filed at the tribunal as exhibit A.

There were three charges brought against Tinubu who was alleged to have maintained 10 foreign accounts in the United States of America and the United Kingdom, while in office. He was also alleged to have failed to declare the foreign bank accounts in the assets declaration form CCB-1 which he submitted to the CCB when he was elected governor.

 Count one of the three charges stated that the former governor operated 10 foreign accounts in violation of section 7 of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap C15 LFN 2004 as amended. The banks, together with their account details were named as First Heritage Bank in the USA, Citibank NA, USA, Citibank International, New York, and seven branches of HSBC, London.  The offence is “punishable  under section 23(2)thereof as incorporated under paragraph 18, part 1” of the 5th schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Count two is similar to count one as it provided other details, of the former governor’s bank account in foreign countries. Some of the bank accounts named in the second count were alleged to have been operated with the names of his wife and children.

Tinubu’s alleged offence as stated in count three was that he misinformed the Code of Conduct, through Form CCB1 which he filed and submitted while in office between 1999 and 2007, that he did not own any foreign account. The offence is punishable under paragraph 18, 5th schedule to the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. Count three of the fresh three-count charge reads, “That you Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former governor of Lagos State, being a public office holder as listed in part 11 of the first schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and having subscribed to the oath of office as contained in the fifth schedule to the 1999 Constitution on assumption of office between 1999 and 2007, and while in office as such you misinform the Code of Conduct Bureau by stating in the Form CCB1 that you do not have foreign account contrary to Section 15 (2) of Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, Cap C15 LFN, 2004 as amended and punishable under paragraph 18, fifth schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).”

The beginning of the epic legal trial was witnessed by many prominent members of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, who thronged the venue of the tribunal in solidarity with Tinubu, leader of the party. Among the ACN chieftains who came for the trial were Rauf Aregbesola, governor of Osun State and Abiola Ajimobi, his Oyo State counterpart.

Before the commencement of the trial, security was tightened around the court premises located at Jabi area in Abuja. The road to the tribunal was cordoned off with heavy police presence.

Even before the day of the trial, Tinubu had claimed that it was politically motivated.  He accused Mohammed Bello Adoke SAN, attorney-general of the federation, and the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as those behind it.  He described his trial by the CCT as ill- timed, insisting that he was not going to lose any sleep over the matter.  According to him, the trial coming several years after he left office was enough indication that it was a grand design to silence the opposition.

But the Code of Conduct Bureau insisted that his trial for operating foreign accounts while he was governor was not political. A statement signed by Iyabo Akinwande, the bureau’s head of information, said Tinubu’s trial was not political and that it was delayed in order to complete investigation. “It has no political undertone. The case was only put on hold because investigation was ongoing,” Akinwande stated.

The Society for Rule of Law in Nigeria, SRLN, also faulted Tinubu’s insinuation that his trial was politically motivated. Chima Ubeku, co-ordinator of the group, described the trial as a welcome development because it shows that “Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliations, must begin to speak with one voice against corruption which has no political party.”  He explained that with the impending trial of Tinubu, those public officers who think that they were sacred cows ought to begin to have a rethink.”This is a kind of news that gladdens our hearts and we hope that the Code of Conduct Tribunal will pursue the case to a logical conclusion,” he said.