|
Foreign accounts trial: How the case against
Tinubu crumbled Newsdiaryonline
Thur Dec 1,2011
Tinubu:In the dock
“I thank God for today (yesterday) and for this judgment in
my favour. Today’s(Wedneday’s) verdict shows there is still hope
for this country. That the judiciary can still dispense justice
with judges on the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). They are
courageous judges who dispensed justice without fear or
favour.Those were the jubilant words of Bola Tinubu, former
governor of Lagos state after the Code of Conduct Tribunal
quashed the case against him .He was accused of
operating foreign
bank accounts while
serving as Lagos state governor, contrary to the law.
Tinubu expressed even
more gratitude to his team of lawyers:“I thank my legal team,
led by the indefatigable Wole Olanipekun (SAN), for their
brilliant work. I am happy this has come to an end. The attempt
to rubbish my name based on unsubstantiated charges, as I said,
would fail. After my time in political office, I should enjoy my
rights of going into personal business.”
But riight from
the start,many had wondered whether it was
a genuine trial, political vendetta or just pure anti
corruption showmanship the state wanted to exhibit. In the end
it became clear that
the trial of Bola Tinubu may go down as one the
embarrassing episodes of the on going anti corruption crusade.
Even if the state wanted him tried for whatever reasons- whether
for vendetta or ‘double-cross’ as some observers said after what
seemed like President Goodluck Joinathan’s chummy relationship
with the Asiwaju Tinubu
during the last general poll-it
is now evident those who raised the allegations did a
poor job of prosecuting the case
before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The three-count
charge against the former governor by the Code of Conduct Bureau
(CCB) was quashed due to lack
of merits .
“No prima facie case
has been established against accused applicant. The prosecution
failed to file affidavit evidence in support of the
count-amended charges. The tribunal has no jurisdiction to
proceed. The charges are hereby quashed and the accused person
discharged,” the chairman said.
He was said to have
operated 16 foreign bank accounts between 1999 and 2007 while he
was governor of Lagos State.Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice
Umar Yakubu, ruled however that the prosecution failed to
produce affidavit of evidence to buttress its claims .In
particular, he said once an amendment charge is presented before
the court, it becomes a fresh charge,thus providing the basis
for dismissing the previous one.
Yakubu ruled that that CCB did not show how Tinubu operated
the foreign accounts in question.He added that the names so far
traced to the accounts
do not belong to him ,rather they are names of the former
governor’s relatives. Specifically the tribunal said the
prosecution did not state that Tinubu committed the alleged
offence by proxy.
The CCB is studying the judgement to determine whether to
appeal or not.But whatever
step it takes, it is clear that the anti corruption
crusade has been exposed as a defective war
yet again.Is it a case of incompetence of the
prosecution? Was it just a show trial?Or is there truly more to
it than meets the eye? Only time will tell.
Th
This is the document referred to in the Witness
Statement on Oath of Clifford O. Kokogho as
“Exhibit
COK.2”
|
