Posted by Doyin Adebusuyi and Ijendu Iheaka on
Sixty-two people, including the Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Kalu, and his Oyo State counterpart, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, were on Wednesday put in the dock by the Code of Conduct Bureau for allegedly defaulting in declaring their assets.
Sixty-two people, including the Abia State Governor, Chief Orji Kalu, and his Oyo State counterpart, Alhaji Rashidi Ladoja, were on Wednesday put in the dock by the Code of Conduct Bureau for allegedly defaulting in declaring their assets.
Ladoja was represented by his wife, Yinka, and a counsel, Mr.Y.A Bayero, while no one stood in for Kalu at the High Court, llorin, Kwara State, venue of the trial.
The Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Saminu Turaki, who had previously been listed as one of those to be tried, had the allegation against him struck out by the tribunal at an earlier sitting in Abuja.
The breakdown of the other 60 accused was also not given but our correspondents gathered that they comprised councillors and civil servants from Akwa Ibom, Enugu, and Osun States and the Federal Capital Territory.
A three-member tribunal headed by Justice Bashir Sambo is conducting the trial. The other members of the tribunal are Prof. P.A. Oluade and Mr. Samuel Iyorkya.
The charge against Ladoja and Kalu was that they were operating foreign accounts contrary to the provisions of Paragraph 3, Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule of the 1999 Constitution.
The paragraph reads, 'The President, Vice President, Governor, Deputy Governor, Ministers of the government of the Federation and Commissioners of the governments of the States, members of the National Assembly and of the Houses of Assembly of the States, and such other public officers or persons as the National Assembly may by law prescribe shall not maintain or operate a bank account in any country outside Nigeria."
Ladoja's counsel, Bayero, said his client was not properly served with the affidavit and urged the tribunal to adjourn the case.
Bayero, who attributed the delay in the matter to a change in venue, however, did not give any reason, neither did he cite the immunity clause for his client's absence.
The Kwara State Coordinator of the Bureau, Mr. Joseph Adeoye, said that Kalu sent word that he would not be represented because he was not properly briefed.
Counsel to the Bureau, Mr. O. J. Olatigbe, who did not oppose the request by Bayero for an adjournment, said he was also served with the relevant papers on Wednesday morning.
Olatigbe told the tribunal that he needed at least two days to study the papers.
Justice Sambo agreed with the lawyers that they needed time to study the papers and adjourned the case till July 13.
The venue of the trial at the next adjourned date was not mentioned.
It was however gathered that it might be in Abuja.
Before adjourning, the tribunal found the other accused guilty.
The civil servants most of who are on levels seven and above, were fined N25,000 each with an option to vacate their offices.
The politicians were also fined N25,000 each with an option to be banned from holding public offices for 10 years.
Riot policemen were stationed at strategic places around the court to ensure adequate security.
Wednesday's sitting was the first by the tribunal since its inauguration in 1989.
The Bureau had said that the governors would be tried in Kwara State on May 24 but later said it would hold in Abuja.
Kalu, in a letter to the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Akinlolu Olujinmi, reminded him of an Umuahia High Court order restraining him from further actions relating to or connected with his trial by the tribunal.
The letter, written through his counsel and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Livy Uzoukwu, was made available to our correspondent on Wednesday in Umuahia.
Th governor recalled in the letter that on May 23, 2005, an application for leave to enforce his fundamental rights was granted him by the high court in suit no HU/50M/2005, in respect of his ownership of foreign accounts.
He said that the order was served on Olujimi and other defendants and that a SAN was assigned to defend the AG while other parties were also represented.
He said the AG's counsel filed applications challenging the competence of the Umuahia High Court.
The matter, according to him, was adjourned to June 22, 2005 for hearing.
Kalu's letter read in part, 'In our view, it will be scandalous and a grave threat to the rule of law if a party should challenge the competence of a process and goes ahead to disobey an order arising there from without the humility, discipline and patience of waiting for the outcome of the challenge.
'We were therefore, shocked and disappointed when on June 15, 2005 our attention was drawn to a purported Criminal Summons dated 6th June 2005, said to have been filed at your insistence and which was sent to the Government House, Abia State and meant for our client.
'It was purportedly fixed for hearing on 22 June 2005, the same day your application challenging the proceedings at the Umuahia High Court was fixed for hearing."
He pointed out that the survival of Nigeria's democracy, rule of law and constitutionalism called for obedience to court orders by every person, government, institution or agency.
The Punch, Thursday June 23, 2005