The President of the Senate, Dr.
Abubakar Bukola Saraki has reacted to the Supreme Court ruling that upheld his
earlier Appeal Court victory on Friday.
The lawmaker 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 he personally
signed after the judgement of the Supreme Court,
Saraki expressed gratitude to all Nigerians who have supported him since the
case commenced three years ago.
Saraki said, “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.
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