The Federal Government has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to dismiss a fresh suit filed by Senate President Bukola Saraki seeking an order nullifying the proceedings and the charges of false assets declaration initiated against him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). The Federal Government argued in its notice of preliminary objection filed through its counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), that the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit and that “it constitutes an abuse of court process.”
Jacobs also argued in the application which he filed yesterday that the suit failed to disclose a reasonable cause of action and that “the reliefs being sought by the applicant (Saraki) are not available under the law.” He also filed a separate counter-affidavit in opposition to the suit contending that the prosecution followed due process in filing the charges against Saraki and did not infringe on his right fair hearing.
The matter scheduled for hearing before Justice Abdukadir Abdu-Kafarati yesterday could not go on because some of the respondents to the suit had not been served with the court order directing them to appear before the court to show cause why the prayers sought by Saraki in his ex parte application should not be granted. Justice Abdu-Kafarati had on November 16 rejected an ex parte application filed on November 6 by Saraki’s lawyer, Mr. Ajibola Oluyide, asking for an interim injunction to stop the proceedings of the CCT pending the determination of his main fundamental rights enforcement suit.
