Nigeria: Senate chief slams appeal of acquittal ruling

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria's senate President Bukola Saraki on Friday condemned the government's appeal against the tribunal ruling that acquitted him from corruption charges as a ‘desperate attempt to pull me down at all cost’.

“This appeal against the CCT (code of conduct tribunal) ruling is nothing but another attempt to grandstand and embark on another media trial without any substance,” Saraki’s media office said in a statement.

“Dr. Saraki continues to wonder how desperate some people in government and their collaborators outside [want] to pull him down at all cost and by all means up to the point that they do not care if they destroy the institution of the judiciary in the process,” it added.

Saraki was reacting to the government filing of an appeal against the court's ruling which Abuja insists was “unconstitutional and without jurisdiction”.

On June 14, the tribunal had acquitted Saraki of all the 18 charges involving false assets declaration and unlawful operation of foreign accounts, holding among others.

But the government said the ruling was an unlawful review of earlier decisions of the highest courts in Nigeria on the same issue and other criminal matters.

No date has been fixed for hearings of the appeals.