He, however, stressed that he will resist similar pressure if it comes in respect of those being tried at the moment. He described as false, insinuations that he was being influenced to convict the Senate President. According to him, “During Bola Tinubu’s case, we were under influence to convict him, but we did the right thing. “I swear by the Almighty Allah to do justice in this trial.
On our part, the insinuation that we are being influenced to see the conviction of the defendant is false. “During the trial of Bola Tinubu, we were under influence. But you saw what happened. We did what we needed to do based on what was before us.”
He, however, urged the lawyers on both sides of Saraki’s trial to conduct themselves in a manner that would enhance speedy determination of the case. “The bench is begging the bar that we must make progress in this matter,” Umar said.
In response, Saraki’s lead counsel, Kanu Agabi (SAN), said the CCT chairman had allayed the defence’s fear of prejudice. According to him, “Nothing fears a lawyer more than prejudice. When a judge of your calibre says you fear God, we thank you for it.”
Also speaking, the other member of the tribunal, William Atedze, debunked a newspaper publication accusing him of not contributing to the decisions and proceedings of the tribunal. According to him, “I believe the article must have been written by a layman. A lawyer would not have written that nonsense. “Are we supposed to be fighting on the bench? The bench is not a motor park. If there are differences, we resolve it in chamber.”
Umar, however, stressed that he will do justice in the instant case without any recourse to external influence that may arise in the course of the trial. Umar further noted the number of counsel representing Saraki in the trial. According to him, the records of the tribunal showed that there were about 100 counsel standing for the defendant.
He insisted that to ensure orderliness, all the counsel may not be allowed to cross-examine the witness, adding that all the other lawyers can assist the leader of the defence team, Agabi, rather than every other person in the team doing the job. He further noted that there has been too many counsel cross-examining the witness.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), said he made the point that all Saraki’s counsel can speak through the lead counsel. After the preamble, the tribunal began the day’s proceedings of crossexamination of the Prosecution Witness I, Michael Wetkas. Under cross-examination by a member of the defence team, Paul Usoro (SAN), Wetkas admitted that Saraki has no link with the ownership of Ikoyi property. He also admitted that the investigation did not link Saraki with the ownership of Victory Oil as alleged.
He also admitted that there was no evidence to show that Saraki bought an undeclared property. The subject of contention is the property at 15 McDonald Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, which Saraki allegedly did not declare.
The witness, however, told the tribunal that the team did not see any records of the said property at the Lagos State Land Registry. Questioning the witness based on a joint inspection report of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) of July 28, 2006 on the property, Usoro asked if the committee from which the defendant allegedly bought the property, numbered the street.
The witness, however, said he did not know. When asked whether his team came across any document saying that the defendant bought property personally, Wetkas answered that there was none. However, the witness went on to explain that the property was paid for through the account of Carlye Properties and Investment Limited, one of Saraki’s companies. He claimed that 75 per cent of the money was generated through a loan signed by the wife of the defendant. The tribunal later adjourned till today for continuation of cross-exami nation.
God will help you, Nigeria politics is different with the level of corruption in it
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