Friday 3 March 2017

CCB: Why We Didn’t Interrogate Saraki

The Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, yesterday, adduced reasons it did not interrogate the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, after it uncovered discrepancies in assets he declared as a public officer.

The bureau said it did not bother to summon Saraki because the said assets were declared under oath. Saraki is answering to an 18-count criminal charge the Federal Government preferred against him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, in Abuja.


At the resumed hearing, yesterday, Chief Admin Officer at the CCB, Mr. Samuel Madujemu, testified as the 3rd prosecution witness.


 Madujemu was the head of investigation division under the Department of Intelligence, Investigation and Monitoring that joined the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to probe Saraki’s assets.


While being cross-examined by Saraki’s lawyer, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, the witness told the tribunal that directive for the defendant’s assets to be investigated came from the Federal Ministry of Justice.

He said two separate investigations were conducted in 2006 and 2015, following oral directive from “the top”.


Admitting that the CCB had no issues with Saraki until the directive came, the PW-3 told the tribunal that the defendant’s assets “came under heavy suspicion” after it was found that an initial investigation conducted by the EFCC was “scanty.”

According to him, the 2006 team did not conduct proper investigation on Saraki’s assets. “Outcome of the 2006 team was reviewed by the EFCC and was discovered to be scanty. It was discovered that it did not cover all the declarations made by the defendant, hence the need for setting up another team.


“I do not have the report where EFCC declared the earlier investigation scanty.

But I have a mental record of the declaration due to my interaction with the team,” the witness added. Meantime, Justice Danladi Umar has adjourned further hearing on the matter till March 20 and 21.



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