Justice Ahmed Mohammed, a Federal High Court judge who last week tried unsuccessfully to sabotage the false assets declaration trial of Nigeria’s Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had played a similar role in the past at the behest of the embattled senator. Justice Mohammed, who was characterized by several judicial sources as a justice for hire, stepped in earlier this year to thwart Mr. Saraki’s trial for a loan scam. The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian police had sought to prosecute Mr. Saraki for duping a bank.


Police investigators alleged that Mr. Saraki took a loan of N11.97 billion from the defunct InterContinental Bank of Nigeria. However, in May 2015, Justice Mohammed cleared Mr. Saraki of any wrongdoing even as evidence surfaced that the senator had used his protégé, Lai Mahmood Alabi, to wipe away 87% of the debt through dubious means.

The special fraud unit had accused Mr. Saraki of obtaining the loans between 2000 and 2009, part of the period coinciding with the senator’s tenure as governor of Kwara State. The investigators also accused Mr. Saraki of using several companies, including Joy Petroleum, Skyview Properties Ltd, Dicetrade, and Limkers Nigeria Ltd in the fraudulent loan transactions. The Code of Conduct Tribunal has included most of the companies in an indictment of Mr. Saraki. The Senate President’s trial is set to commence in Abuja tomorrow.

Investigators allege that Mr. Saraki used the loans to purchase properties in London, Lagos and Europe. The real assets were also not declared in the senator’s Code of Conduct Assets declaration forms as required by law.

Police and judicial sources told SaharaReporters that Mr. Saraki and Justice Mohammed colluded with Nigeria’s former Attorney General, Mohammed Adoke, to force agents of the special fraud unit to abandon the senator’s loan fraud case despite overwhelming evidence.

One legal analyst said it was curious that Mr. Saraki’s lawsuit, aimed at scuttling his new trial, came before the same Justice Mohammed. “The deal was for Justice Mohammed to grant Senator Saraki an interlocutory injunction, but the judge apparently played safe knowing that the SSS [State Security Services0 and the EFCC [Economic and Financial Crimes Commission] had been investigating judges involved in corruption,” one the source added.

The source, a senior lawyer, told SaharaReporters that Justice Mohammed must have known that he had no jurisdiction to entertain the case brought by Senator Saraki to stop his trial. “The issue of the jurisdiction of the Code of Conduct Tribunal to try assets declaration cases is already settled by the Constitution,” said the lawyer. He added: “It’s ridiculous to argue that the Code of Conduct Tribunal needed the signature of the Attorney General of the Federation to institute charges. The issue had been settled by the Supreme Court in 2002 when Wole Olanipekun raised an objection at the apex court in a case involving governors who wanted the court to determine their tenure status within the confines of the law as to whether their tenure in 1992 was a legitimate ground to disqualify them from running for office again.

“The Supreme Court ruled that the office of the Attorney General is a perpetual office that could function with or without the person of the AGF.”

Our legal sources said it remained unclear what verdict Justice Mohammed would give tomorrow. However, Senator Saraki appears not to be taking chances. His legal team has filed an appeal asking that the arrest warrant against him be quashed.

Yesterday, Mr. Saraki traveled to Ilorin, the capital of Kwara State. One source close to him alleged that the senator had consulted with a marabout in Ilorin. The senator later flew back to Abuja in a private jet and then moved into a Senate Guest House occupied by former Senate President, David Mark.

The source close to the embattled senator told SaharaReporters that Mr. Saraki’s team was working assiduously to take on former Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, adding that Mr. Tinubu was directly involved in the Senate President’s travails. “We will soon release Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s own asset declaration forms that he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau. Nigerians will see that he [Mr. Tinubu] has assets that were equally not declared to the CCB [Code of Conduct Bureau],” the source said.

Mr. Saraki and his wife have been targets of a long running investigator by several anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, including the EFCC and the special fraud unit of the Nigerian police.

Over the years, SaharaReporters had done investigative reports on Mr. Saraki’s reported theft of funds from Societe Generale, a bank in which his late father owned controlling shares, as well as extensive money laundering schemes during his eight-year tenure as governor of Kwara State.

Saraki maneuvered himself into the Senate Presidency after striking an alliance with the leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

A source in his camp told SaharaReporters that the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, do not intend to compel Saraki to attend his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal tomorrow, instead Mr. Arase who helped scuttled the case relating to forgery of Senate rules brought against Senate Ike Ekweremadu is expected to assist Saraki to appear before Justice mohammed’s court tomorrow where the federal judge is expected to issue a ruling stopping Saraki’s trial at the CCT altogether.

http://saharareporters.com/2015/09/20/justice-ahmed-mohammed-judge-who-tried-stop-saraki%E2%80%99s-arraignment-had-played-dubious-role

Sai Baba

ok

The thing about propaganda is that it is a double edged sword
Saraki’s Case: The Real Inside Story

By Bashir Akanbi, Lagos Nigeria
20th September, 2015



“… Taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).” – Bashir Akanbi



Over the past few days, the Nigerian polity has been heated up by media reports about the moves of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to arrest the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for failure to show up for his arraignment on charges that emanate from his 2003 asset declaration form. Although the news reports have trickled in from every news agency in the country, there is an inside story that nobody is talking about. This is that inside story.



It is very unfortunate that politics in Nigeria's today can widely be described as an unholy game of personality defamation, political infighting and heavy media onslaughts on perceived political obstructers. This is the primary reason why many politicians have controlling interests in many Nigerian media houses.



For example, Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns The Nation newspaper. He also owns a controlling interest in The Punch, and has been rumored to be the primary funder of Omoyele Sowore’s Sahara TV station – a subsidiary of Sahara Reporters. Additionally, Tinubu is the owner of TV Continental (TVC). It is for this reason, that since Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, and Tinubu’s vow not to recognize his emergence, that The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have gone on coordinated onslaughts against the Senate President.



Over the past two months, Sahara Reporters and The Nation have gone as far as publishing a fake copy of Saraki’s passport in an effort to disparage him. The Nation has also been skewing the news to make their reader’s believe that there has been turmoil in the Upper Legislative Chambers. While The Punch, has served as a reinforce of The Nation’s news, publishing op-eds from virtual unknowns (perhaps writers writing under pseudonyms) that are aimed at tarnishing Saraki’s reputation amongst the populace. It goes without saying that the power of the media is the power over the masses.

Needless to say, this development is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy. Given the fact that the news can be skewed, twisted and colored as a politician wants, doesn’t this mean that the news that Nigerian have been receiving from Sahara Reporters, The Punch, and The Nation are not infact news, but “Tall Tales According to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” It is a pity that these Tinubu-tales are now bestsellers, however, many Nigerians are beginning to wake up and realize that not all that you read or hear in many of these newspapers is the truth.



What is equally disturbing, and must be checked at once in the best interest of Nigeria’s democracy, and in order to ensure that certain individuals do not have undue influence over the matters of our national affairs is the fact that TVC, The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have been shown to be collaborating with anti-Saraki forces in the government to bring him to public ridicule. For example, on Wednesday, the story that Saraki had a case to answer with the Code of Conduct Bureau broke first on Sahara Reporters on the evening of Tuesday, September 16th. Immediately, The Nation and Punch followed suit. This was in spite of the fact that by the next day, the individual that the case was about, Dr. Saraki, had not even been served with the court papers and processes. How did they find out a full 24 hours before the defendant was served? Surely, there must be some “snitches” in the on a vendetta mission that are colluding with these news organizations.

If the aforementioned point is not strong enough, then ask yourself: “How did Sahara Reporters get access to the charge sheet against Saraki when Saraki had not yet been served?”



Nigerians are not foolish. What is happening right now, is comparable to what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did to Aminu Tambuwal after his emergence as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, without his party’s support. What is happening now, is that the APC, Buhari, and Tinubu, are working overtime to attempt to remove Saraki at all costs. This is even more apparent when you look at the timing of everything. Buhari promised that his ministerial list would be out by September, however, the list is not yet out.



I spoke to a South Eastern Senator yesterday, who told me that Saraki’s current plight is rudimentary politics. He explained that Buhari is clearly trying to make Saraki either resign, or accept his nominees for Ministers without a proper vetting process. Nigerians have noticed that nominees like Babatunde Fowler, who was appointed to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service on Tinubu’s recommendation, has started work, despite needing to be confirmed by the Senate. At the end of the day, it is clear that the former dictator turned converted democrat, is trying to convert the principles of democracy to suit his unholy alliance with his friend from the South West.

Many Senators believe that if Saraki is removed, then it will turn the Upper Legislative Chambers upside down because Ahmed Lawan, the candidate favoured by both Tinubu and Buhari, is not even accepted by the Senators in his own zone, as Ali Ndume, the current Senate Majority Leader, beat him handily to emerge as the Number 3 Officer in the Senate. Additionally, if Saraki is forced out, with 49 PDP Senators, and 58 APC Senators, the APC clearly does not have the numbers that are needed to impeach the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who is from the PDP. This could leave the Senate in the hands of the PDP.



Finally, as Buhari is a democratically elected President not a military-installed dictator, in as much as he wants to see ‘alleged looters’ punished, he has to follow due process. The prosecution of Saraki in the CCT is a huge joke because certain procedures were clearly not followed. When the whole legal case of the Federal Government crumbles based on non-adherence to Section 3 (subsection 2 and 3) of the Act that establishes both the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Nigerians will see that the Federal Government is being rash and vindictive, as opposed to careful and calculating. Ultimately, taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).

[s][quote author=scribble post=38218665]The thing about propaganda is that it is a double edged sword
Saraki’s Case: The Real Inside Story

By Bashir Akanbi, Lagos Nigeria
20th September, 2015



“… Taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).” – Bashir Akanbi



Over the past few days, the Nigerian polity has been heated up by media reports about the moves of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to arrest the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for failure to show up for his arraignment on charges that emanate from his 2003 asset declaration form. Although the news reports have trickled in from every news agency in the country, there is an inside story that nobody is talking about. This is that inside story.



It is very unfortunate that politics in Nigeria's today can widely be described as an unholy game of personality defamation, political infighting and heavy media onslaughts on perceived political obstructers. This is the primary reason why many politicians have controlling interests in many Nigerian media houses.



For example, Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns The Nation newspaper. He also owns a controlling interest in The Punch, and has been rumored to be the primary funder of Omoyele Sowore’s Sahara TV station – a subsidiary of Sahara Reporters. Additionally, Tinubu is the owner of TV Continental (TVC). It is for this reason, that since Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, and Tinubu’s vow not to recognize his emergence, that The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have gone on coordinated onslaughts against the Senate President.



Over the past two months, Sahara Reporters and The Nation have gone as far as publishing a fake copy of Saraki’s passport in an effort to disparage him. The Nation has also been skewing the news to make their reader’s believe that there has been turmoil in the Upper Legislative Chambers. While The Punch, has served as a reinforce of The Nation’s news, publishing op-eds from virtual unknowns (perhaps writers writing under pseudonyms) that are aimed at tarnishing Saraki’s reputation amongst the populace. It goes without saying that the power of the media is the power over the masses.

Needless to say, this development is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy. Given the fact that the news can be skewed, twisted and colored as a politician wants, doesn’t this mean that the news that Nigerian have been receiving from Sahara Reporters, The Punch, and The Nation are not infact news, but “Tall Tales According to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” It is a pity that these Tinubu-tales are now bestsellers, however, many Nigerians are beginning to wake up and realize that not all that you read or hear in many of these newspapers is the truth.



What is equally disturbing, and must be checked at once in the best interest of Nigeria’s democracy, and in order to ensure that certain individuals do not have undue influence over the matters of our national affairs is the fact that TVC, The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have been shown to be collaborating with anti-Saraki forces in the government to bring him to public ridicule. For example, on Wednesday, the story that Saraki had a case to answer with the Code of Conduct Bureau broke first on Sahara Reporters on the evening of Tuesday, September 16th. Immediately, The Nation and Punch followed suit. This was in spite of the fact that by the next day, the individual that the case was about, Dr. Saraki, had not even been served with the court papers and processes. How did they find out a full 24 hours before the defendant was served? Surely, there must be some “snitches” in the on a vendetta mission that are colluding with these news organizations.

If the aforementioned point is not strong enough, then ask yourself: “How did Sahara Reporters get access to the charge sheet against Saraki when Saraki had not yet been served?”



Nigerians are not foolish. What is happening right now, is comparable to what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did to Aminu Tambuwal after his emergence as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, without his party’s support. What is happening now, is that the APC, Buhari, and Tinubu, are working overtime to attempt to remove Saraki at all costs. This is even more apparent when you look at the timing of everything. Buhari promised that his ministerial list would be out by September, however, the list is not yet out.



I spoke to a South Eastern Senator yesterday, who told me that Saraki’s current plight is rudimentary politics. He explained that Buhari is clearly trying to make Saraki either resign, or accept his nominees for Ministers without a proper vetting process. Nigerians have noticed that nominees like Babatunde Fowler, who was appointed to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service on Tinubu’s recommendation, has started work, despite needing to be confirmed by the Senate. At the end of the day, it is clear that the former dictator turned converted democrat, is trying to convert the principles of democracy to suit his unholy alliance with his friend from the South West.

Many Senators believe that if Saraki is removed, then it will turn the Upper Legislative Chambers upside down because Ahmed Lawan, the candidate favoured by both Tinubu and Buhari, is not even accepted by the Senators in his own zone, as Ali Ndume, the current Senate Majority Leader, beat him handily to emerge as the Number 3 Officer in the Senate. Additionally, if Saraki is forced out, with 49 PDP Senators, and 58 APC Senators, the APC clearly does not have the numbers that are needed to impeach the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who is from the PDP. This could leave the Senate in the hands of the PDP.



Finally, as Buhari is a democratically elected President not a military-installed dictator, in as much as he wants to see ‘alleged looters’ punished, he has to follow due process. The prosecution of Saraki in the CCT is a huge joke because certain procedures were clearly not followed. When the whole legal case of the Federal Government crumbles based on non-adherence to Section 3 (subsection 2 and 3) of the Act that establishes both the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Nigerians will see that the Federal Government is being rash and vindictive, as opposed to careful and calculating. Ultimately, taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).[/quote[/s]]

yimikaa:
[s]

Did you actually typed all this with ur mobile phone?

Op, u tried sha

Scribble, when you put a source to that your rubbish you pasted up there, i'll come back and remind you that's the level of journalism in Nigeria. First, they finish you on the pages of newspaper and social media before they do it bodily.

If we keep defending guyz that re corrupt, You will keeping complaining that there is no future for ur kids in Nigeria..

Any one who is corrupt should go to court to prove. His innocence, we should all stop this media Brouhaha according to my english Nairalanders..

Hmmmmmmm

powerfulsettingz:




Did you actually typed all this with ur mobile phone?

No.

Now the turn of Justice Ahmed Mohammed to defend himself. His file has been dug out!!!

They are both rogues and thieves, I pronounced that both of them should be tied on a tree and stone to death

Guess you part of centri-fugal forces that tends to tear nigeria apart...supporting a corrupt and fraudulent man like saraki won't help the future of your dear children if u have any?...

Let the bad person pay for his deeds...

scribble:
The thing about propaganda is that it is a double edged sword
Saraki’s Case: The Real Inside Story

By Bashir Akanbi, Lagos Nigeria
20th September, 2015



“… Taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).” – Bashir Akanbi



Over the past few days, the Nigerian polity has been heated up by media reports about the moves of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), to arrest the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, for failure to show up for his arraignment on charges that emanate from his 2003 asset declaration form. Although the news reports have trickled in from every news agency in the country, there is an inside story that nobody is talking about. This is that inside story.



It is very unfortunate that politics in Nigeria's today can widely be described as an unholy game of personality defamation, political infighting and heavy media onslaughts on perceived political obstructers. This is the primary reason why many politicians have controlling interests in many Nigerian media houses.



For example, Bola Ahmed Tinubu owns The Nation newspaper. He also owns a controlling interest in The Punch, and has been rumored to be the primary funder of Omoyele Sowore’s Sahara TV station – a subsidiary of Sahara Reporters. Additionally, Tinubu is the owner of TV Continental (TVC). It is for this reason, that since Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s emergence as Senate President, and Tinubu’s vow not to recognize his emergence, that The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have gone on coordinated onslaughts against the Senate President.



Over the past two months, Sahara Reporters and The Nation have gone as far as publishing a fake copy of Saraki’s passport in an effort to disparage him. The Nation has also been skewing the news to make their reader’s believe that there has been turmoil in the Upper Legislative Chambers. While The Punch, has served as a reinforce of The Nation’s news, publishing op-eds from virtual unknowns (perhaps writers writing under pseudonyms) that are aimed at tarnishing Saraki’s reputation amongst the populace. It goes without saying that the power of the media is the power over the masses.

Needless to say, this development is unhealthy for Nigeria’s democracy. Given the fact that the news can be skewed, twisted and colored as a politician wants, doesn’t this mean that the news that Nigerian have been receiving from Sahara Reporters, The Punch, and The Nation are not infact news, but “Tall Tales According to Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” It is a pity that these Tinubu-tales are now bestsellers, however, many Nigerians are beginning to wake up and realize that not all that you read or hear in many of these newspapers is the truth.



What is equally disturbing, and must be checked at once in the best interest of Nigeria’s democracy, and in order to ensure that certain individuals do not have undue influence over the matters of our national affairs is the fact that TVC, The Nation, The Punch, and Sahara Reporters have been shown to be collaborating with anti-Saraki forces in the government to bring him to public ridicule. For example, on Wednesday, the story that Saraki had a case to answer with the Code of Conduct Bureau broke first on Sahara Reporters on the evening of Tuesday, September 16th. Immediately, The Nation and Punch followed suit. This was in spite of the fact that by the next day, the individual that the case was about, Dr. Saraki, had not even been served with the court papers and processes. How did they find out a full 24 hours before the defendant was served? Surely, there must be some “snitches” in the on a vendetta mission that are colluding with these news organizations.

If the aforementioned point is not strong enough, then ask yourself: “How did Sahara Reporters get access to the charge sheet against Saraki when Saraki had not yet been served?”



Nigerians are not foolish. What is happening right now, is comparable to what the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) did to Aminu Tambuwal after his emergence as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, without his party’s support. What is happening now, is that the APC, Buhari, and Tinubu, are working overtime to attempt to remove Saraki at all costs. This is even more apparent when you look at the timing of everything. Buhari promised that his ministerial list would be out by September, however, the list is not yet out.



I spoke to a South Eastern Senator yesterday, who told me that Saraki’s current plight is rudimentary politics. He explained that Buhari is clearly trying to make Saraki either resign, or accept his nominees for Ministers without a proper vetting process. Nigerians have noticed that nominees like Babatunde Fowler, who was appointed to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service on Tinubu’s recommendation, has started work, despite needing to be confirmed by the Senate. At the end of the day, it is clear that the former dictator turned converted democrat, is trying to convert the principles of democracy to suit his unholy alliance with his friend from the South West.

Many Senators believe that if Saraki is removed, then it will turn the Upper Legislative Chambers upside down because Ahmed Lawan, the candidate favoured by both Tinubu and Buhari, is not even accepted by the Senators in his own zone, as Ali Ndume, the current Senate Majority Leader, beat him handily to emerge as the Number 3 Officer in the Senate. Additionally, if Saraki is forced out, with 49 PDP Senators, and 58 APC Senators, the APC clearly does not have the numbers that are needed to impeach the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu who is from the PDP. This could leave the Senate in the hands of the PDP.



Finally, as Buhari is a democratically elected President not a military-installed dictator, in as much as he wants to see ‘alleged looters’ punished, he has to follow due process. The prosecution of Saraki in the CCT is a huge joke because certain procedures were clearly not followed. When the whole legal case of the Federal Government crumbles based on non-adherence to Section 3 (subsection 2 and 3) of the Act that establishes both the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Nigerians will see that the Federal Government is being rash and vindictive, as opposed to careful and calculating. Ultimately, taxpayers funds are being wasted on trying to remove a perceived political ‘non-conformist’ like Saraki by hook or by crook - without adherence to the book (i.e. the Nigerian Constitution).

The source close to the embattled senator told
SaharaReporters that Mr. Saraki’s team was working assiduously to take on former Governor Bola Tinubu of Lagos State, adding that Mr. Tinubu was directly involved in the Senate President’s travails. “We will soon release Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s own asset declaration forms that he submitted to the Code of Conduct Bureau.
Nigerians will see that he [Mr. Tinubu] has assets
that were equally not declared to the CCB [Code of Conduct Bureau],” the source said.

I can wait to see it


let the game begin

Today is another week, let's see how it goes.

just like the cct judge who had been questioned by the efcc. no saint in Nigerian political arena.

Interesting

We are getting there!

This guy already learnt his lessons... Pls let's move on na

menix:
If we keep defending guyz that re corrupt, You will keeping complaining that there is no future for ur kids in Nigeria..

Any one who is corrupt should go to court to prove. His innocence, we should all stop this media Brouhaha according to my english Nairalanders..

I agree with you sir. But why chasing Saraki now? Why not before he became the senate president?

Chigold101:

I agree with you sir. But why chasing Saraki now? Why not before he became the senate president?

Bro we all know Saraki issue is a vendetta move but must we sacrifice ridding corruption cous it's vendetta...

I jst wish some notorious politicians would be dealt wiv too cous the future is bleak if we allow them to continue in their iniquities.

menix:


Bro we all know Saraki issue is a vendetta move but must we sacrifice ridding corruption cous it's vendetta...

I jst wish some notorious politicians would be dealt wiv too cous the future is bleak if we allow them to continue in their iniquities.

ok

Gboliwe:
Scribble, when you put a source to that your rubbish you pasted up there, i'll come back and remind you that's the level of journalism in Nigeria. First, they finish you on the pages of newspaper and social media before they do it bodily.

What is this one saying?

prestigediva1:
Guess you part of centri-fugal forces that tends to tear nigeria apart...supporting a corrupt and fraudulent man like saraki won't help the future of your dear children if u have any?...
Let the bad person pay for his deeds...

Pls no need for English. Go and string up the following thieves first:

1. Tinubu
2. Fashola
3. Aregbesola
4. Oshiomole
5. Kwankwaso
6. Tambuwal


Then come back and speak some more english

okk

Saraki consulting marabout. 'Person wey God no fit catch, God never create am'.

Judge for hire


Check my signature Call or whatsapp. ...

https://www.nairaland.com/2582274/toks-2008-toyota-fj-cruiser