Nigeria: Corruption acquittal a 'travesty of justice'

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has criticized Wednesday’s court ruling freeing the country's Senate chief Bukola Saraki from corruption charges, blasting it as an “outrageous” travesty of justice.

“There was overwhelming evidence, cogent evidence, incontrovertible evidence, which cannot be dismissed by a no-case submission. The trial judge ought to have called on the defendant to enter his defense against the evidence adduced by the prosecution,” Okoi Obono-Obla, a presidential spokesman on prosecution, said in a statement on Thursday.

“And we will go on with this fight against corruption despite the frustration, despite the setback. We will go back to the drawing board, re-strategize because Nigeria must be saved. Our head is bruised but it is unbowed,” he added.

The code of conduct tribunal acquitted Saraki of 18 counts of corruption involving false assets declaration and illegal operation of foreign accounts, holding that no prima facie case had been established against the defendant. The trial judge also said evidence from four prosecution witnesses was unreliable.

The ruling has seen Nigerians accusing the government of sealing a political deal with the influential parliament chief in exchange for acquittal from the charges, claiming that President Muhammadu Buhari’s corruption fight was a sham.

Obono-Obla dismissed the claims as false. He did not say if the ruling would be appealed or not.