Tinubu Challenges Trial At Conduct Tribunal

Asiwaju Tinubu telling the opposition parties to shut up at the ACN LG rally yesterday. PHOTO: OLUWASANMI JOSEPH.

•Asiwaju Tinubu telling the opposition parties to shut up at the ACN LG rally yesterday. PHOTO: OLUWASANMI JOSEPH.

ACN Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Former governor of Lagos state and leader of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday in Abuja before the Code of Conduct Tribunal mounted a strong campaign against his trial by the tribunal for allegedly operating and maintaining several foreign bank accounts while in office as the governor of Lagos state, southwest Nigeria.

 

Tinubu is challenging the territorial jurisdiction of the tribunal to try him in Abuja as well as the constitutionality of the charge brought against him by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

 

Leading counsel to the former Governor, Chief Wole Olanipekun, a senior advocate of Nigeria, during today’s proceedings informed the court that unlike what the Code of Conduct Bureau did, through its chairman, Mr. Sam Saba, in relation to other past governors who had cases of alleged infringement of the Code of Conduct Bureau Act, who were invited by the Bureau to come and explain and respond in a written submission what they had to say to the allegations, that the former governor of Lagos state was not invited alongside others which explains why he is the only one on trial out of the former governors which the Bureau had earlier indicted.

 

Citing a newspaper publication extrcated from a press release issued by the bureau, Chief Olanipekun pointed out a statement attributed to the Chairman where he was quoted as saying that the other governors who were investigated by the bureau are not going to face trial as they had offered explanations to the allegations against them and argued that such opportunity was not extended to Bola Tinubu.

 

He challenged the Federal Government to produce any evidence to show that the former governor was invited like the others to come and offer explanations in response to allegations brought against him.

 

“Others were called to offer explanations to the allegations against them, why was Tinubu not called? What is good for the goose, is also good for the gander,” he further argued.

 

He recalled that Tinubu willingly submitted himself to the court at the first proceedings of the court last month despite the fact, as was noted by the court, that he was not personally served with the court’s summons and argued that as a law abiding citizen of Nigeria, who served and is still serving his fatherland meritoriously, that the former governor would have responded to any invitation from the bureau to come and offer explanations in respect of the charge and there would not have been any need for this trial, just as was the case with the other past governors investigated by the bureau.

 

Olanipekun also argued that the charge against his client is vague, at large and omnibus. That there were no linkages between the persons mentioned in the charge as holders of the foreign bank accounts and Bola Tinubu.

 

He further contended that there is a desperation on the part of the Federal Government to deal with the former governor who can rightly be said to be the leader of the opposition in Nigeria.

 

He pointed out that there are two charges against Tinubu before the tribunal, one filed in 2007 and another in 2011, and wondered which one he would respond to as well challenged the constitutionality of having two charges against a person in the same court by the same complainant.

 

He argued that merely filing a notice of discontinuance for the 2011 charge at the court after the arraignment of his client as the Federal Government had done without arguing it before the court, does not translate to having withdrawn that charge.

 

He informed the court that they had filed an appeal before the Court of Appeal challenging the constitutionality of the two pending charges.

 

He subsequently urged the court to dismiss the charge against his client for not complying with the provisions of the CCB / T Act which stipulates in section 3 (d) that a person accused of fouling the provisions of the Act should be invited to give explanations to allegations against him or her.

 

In opposing the application, Federal Government’s lawyer, Chief Alex Izinyon, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, argued that it is at the trial that the linkage between the persons mentioned in the charge and the former governor will be established.

 

He also contended that it is a discretional issue whether to invite an accused to come and proffer explanations on allegations brought him.

 

He argued that it is not enough to claim that there is no proof in the proof of evidence to convict the former governor but the charge needs only to contain a prima facie evidence which the charge before the tribunal complied with.

 

Izinyon however failed to impress the panel members when he tried to explain that the filing of notice of discontinuance of the first charge filed in 2007 amounts to a withdrawal.

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Presiding Chairman of the Tribunal, Danladi Yakubu Umar queried the senior advocate as to whether merely filing that notice and the Tribunal not taking any argument about it or making any pronouncement on it, amounts to withdrawal.

 

The court subsequently adjourned till Wednesday, 30th November, 2011 for ruling on the matter.

 

Part of the charge for which Tinubu is standing trial read: “That you Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos state, being a public officer and listed in part ll of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and having subscribed to the oath of office as contained in the Fifth Schedule of the constitution on assumption of office between 1999-2000 and while in office as such, engaged yourself in the operation of several foreign bank accounts.

 

“That you Bola Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos state, beibg a public officer and listed in part ll of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and having subscribed to the oath of office as contained in the Fifth Schedule of the constitution on assumption of office between 1999- 2000 and while in office as such, misinformed Code of Conduct Tribunal by stating in the form CCB1 that you do not have foreign accounts contrary to section 15 (2) of the CCB and T Act, Cap C15, LFN 2004 as amended and punishable under paragraph 18, Fifth Schedule to the 1999 Constitution as amended.”

 

Names and addresses of the banks where the former Governor allegedly operated the foreign accounts were listed on the charge sheet. Some are as follows;

 

First Heritage Bank, Country Club Hills, Illinois, USA; Account Name, Bola Tinubu, Account Number-263226700.

 

Citibank NA New York, USA; Account Name, Bola Tinubu & Compass Finance and Investment Company Ltd; Account Nos-39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220, 39936383.

 

Citibank International New York; Account Name, Bola Tinubu.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen Bola Tinubu; Account No-71253670, SORT CODE-40-03-15.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen. Bola Oluremi Tinubu; Account No-71253670, SORT CODE-40-03-15.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Sen. Bola Tinubu-Money Market; Account No-04320002DN.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Tinubu Habibat Oyindamola (Miss); Account No-1320960111.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 60J; Account Name, Tinubu Zainab Abisola (Miss); Account No-172447101.

 

HSBC,177 Great Portland Street London WIW 60J; Account Name, Tinubu Oluremi Shade; Account No-1916667988.

 

HSBC, 177 Great Portland Street London WIW 6OJ; Account Name, Oluremi Shade Tinubu, Account No-41421522

 

By Nnamdi Felix/Abuja

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