Nigeria's senate chief appeals corruption ruling

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria's senate chief on Tuesday asked the country's Supreme Court to set aside a December ruling, which ordered him to face a corruption trial regarding false assets declaration.

In a petition filed with the court, Senate President Bukola Saraki’s counsel argued that last month's ruling against him by a court of appeals was "misdirected".

Paul Usoro, one of Saraki’s lawyers, confirmed the filing of the petition, saying: "We are essentially asking the Supreme Court to up hold the ruling of the [Abuja] tribunal, which had acquitted Saraki."

On Dec. 12, the court of appeals in capital Abuja ordered the politician to return to the tribunal to face a three-count corruption charge, including his failure to declare a loan he had used to purchase some properties.

The ruling effectively upturned an earlier ruling of the tribunal, which had dismissed all of the 18-count charge against Saraki. However, the appeals court upheld some aspects of the tribunal's ruling.

Saraki, the first sitting Senate president to be tried for alleged graft, is the most prominent victim of President Muhammadu Buhari's anti-corruption campaign.