Senate President, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki has reiterated his confidence in the judicial process
and the ability of the Judiciary to do justice to all manner of men and in all
circumstances.
In
a statement personally signed by him after the judgement of the Supreme Court
which upheld the earlier decision of the Code of Conduct Tribunal discharging
and acquitting him of all 16 charges instituted against him, Saraki expressed
gratitude to all Nigerians who have supported him since the case commenced
three years ago.
“At
the end of a tortuous journey of 1018 Days counting from September 22, 2015
when the case began at the Tribunal, I am happy that I have been vindicated.
The Supreme Court has affirmed that there is no evidence of false declaration
of assets. The court also observed that certain agents took over the
responsibility of the Code of Conduct Bureau in this trial, and one can infer
that this was done towards a pre-determined end.
“This
outcome has gladdened my heart and further strengthened my belief in this
country and as well as my faith in Almighty Allah, who is the righter of all
wrongs. God has vindicated me today before the judgement of man, and I am most
thankful and humbled at His grace and infinite mercies.
“Through
it all, I refused to be shaken, knowing, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said,
that the arch of the moral universe may be long, but it bends towards justice.
I knew the day would come when justice would prevail and I would be
exonerated.
“I
have always believed in the infallibility of our Judiciary, secure in the
knowledge that our courts – the last refuge of the oppressed - would never
condemn the innocent. This outcome is also a vindication of my belief in the
rule of law.
“As
I said in my first appearance at the CCT, this is a politically motivated case.
The case was trumped up in the first instance because of my emergence as the
President of the Senate against the wishes of certain forces. Ordinarily, I
doubt anyone would be interested in the asset declaration form I filled over 15
years ago.
“What
we have seen is the opposite. Instead of working together in the interest of
the nation and to seek to do better for our people, we are fighting one another
and using legal instruments to mount baseless accusations against one another.
Instead of exhibiting the need for unity and working day and night for that
purpose, we are stoking the fire of division and rancour. I maintain that,
above all else, my CCT trial has been a flagrant vilification of my person, and
shows that some people are after their personal interests rather than the
national interest.
“As
a result of the war of attrition, various arms of government have wasted
resources needlessly. It has been three wasted years across board in this
country. Three years that would have been devoted to tackling issues affecting
Nigerians, including: economic recovery, insecurity, youth unemployment and
strengthening national institutions – were wasted on malicious prosecution.
People were ready to trade off three years that would have been devoted to
fostering cooperation, unity and economic progress for their selfish ends. It
is my hope that those who are behind my persecution will see the handwriting on
the wall and leave me to do the work for which I was elected, so I can continue
to give my all to this great country of ours.
“As
many have rightly observed, it is plain to see that the anti-corruption fight
is being prosecuted with vindictiveness, to target perceived political
opponents. I believe in the need to fight corruption, but I will never be party
to the selective application of the law or the rhetoric of an insincere
anti-corruption fight.
“I
believe in fighting corruption and I have made my own humble contributions to
the fight against corruption in this country. As a presidential aide, I
initiated the process that led to the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility
Act. I was the first governor to establish the Price Intelligence Unit which
later metamorphosed into the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) at the federal
level. In the history of this country, the highest fraud, the most brazen
corruption has been the Fuel Subsidy scam. No one wanted to talk about it or
confront entrenched powers. As a Senator on the platform of the ruling party at
that time, I sponsored a motion on the floor of the Senate calling for
investigation that led to the unprecedented exposure of the massive corruption
in the fuel subsidy regime. That was my only point of departure with the former
President. My antecedents speak for themselves.
“I thank Nigerians for
standing by me through the difficult period of this trial. The support of
ordinary Nigerians and their faith in me, as well as their sophistication and
discernment in seeing this case for what it was, has been a source of strength
to me.
“I am most grateful for
the support of my Distinguished Colleagues and the Honourable Members of the 8th National
Assembly for their unflinching support and regular attendance at the various
proceedings. They were unfairly criticised for accompanying me on court
appearances, but it is now clear that they did so because they believed that
injustice to one, is injustice to all. They have been the true embodiment
of esprit de corps. I thank them for banding together in the face
of an unconscionable attack on the institution of the legislature.
“I thank my legal team
for their determined and principled stance, and for their knowledge and
diligence, which saw this case to its just conclusion. My gratitude to all my
friends, political associates, supporters and the good people of Kwara State –
all of whom have been solidly behind me.
“I
thank my family for enduring this trial with their usual grace and fortitude.
My immense gratitude also goes to the international community for their
interest in this case. The Nigerian press have kept watch and I appreciate
their vigilance in ensuring that all the facts were held up to scrutiny.
“To my supporters, yes,
there is a reason to rejoice, but our celebration must be tempered with the
sobering lessons of the attempted injustice from Day One of this
trial. We all have to canvas for fairness in the fight against
corruption. We should see this verdict as an inspiration to champion the rule
of law, promote democracy and its institutions as well as tolerance of
divergent views.
“The overwhelming
support of so many, and the insistence on ensuring that due process and truth
prevailed, has made this verdict possible,” he stated.
SIGNED:
Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON
PRESIDENT
OF THE SENATE
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