Saraki, Ekweremadu: The limit of sentiments

Much has been said about the trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki. Those sympathetic to the former Kwara State Governor believe he is being persecuted for working against his party on the leadership of the Red Chamber.  But in this analysis, Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU writes that Saraki is not the first high ranking public officer nor the first chieftain of a ruling party to be tried. Salisu Buhari, the first Speaker of the House of Representatives, was tried, convicted and booted out of office and the heavens did not fall. 

IS there any justification for the trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, for alleged forgery? Opinion is divided on the trial of the two lawmakers. The pro-Saraki forces in the upper legislative chamber believe that their arraignment in court was in bad faith, adding that they were being victimised by President Muhammadu Buhari. They have been threatening fire and brimstone, saying that democracy is endangered.

But, many observers disagree with them. In the observers’ view, the duo of Saraki and Ekweremadu are not insulated from trial because they lack immunity. Besides, they feel that the Buhari administration, built on a clear anti-corruption mantra, is trying to lay an example.

As far as they are concerned, Saraki, Ekweremadu and others on trial are suspects, until the court decides their fate. According to them, nobody is above the law in a democracy. Thus, if the suspects are found guilty, they should face the music. If otherwise, they will be let off the hook. In this wise, the cause of democracy and due process would have been enhanced.

The trial has worsened the frosty relationship between the Senate and the Presidency. Fear has engulfed the National Assembly, with legislators agitating for constitutional amendment for personal protection through an inexplicable legislative immunity that will shield them from criminal trial like the President, his deputy, governors and their deputies.

Already, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators’ Caucus has alerted the President to an imminent showdown by announcing the withdrawal of support for his policies and programmes. Some of their counterparts in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have also said that the executive was playing with fire.

But Senate Chief Whip, Sola Adeyeye, said the Buhari administration’s position on corruption should not be compromised. He urged the suspects to prove their innocence before an independent judiciary. Senator Adeyeye said that the APC senators will support the President’s bid to rid the nation of theft and graft.

In Kwara, the state where Saraki was governor between 2003 and 2011, APC chieftains are enraged. They poured venom on the President for allowing the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to drag Saraki to court. On the day of their arraignment, an embattled Ekweremadu  decided to play the ethnic card. Decked in Igbo attire, he conveyed the impression that the Southeast, many parts of which did not vote for Buhari in last year’s election, was on trial. He forwarded letters of protest to world leaders, sub-regional and continental groups, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament, the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), urging them to call President Buhari to order.

As usual, Saraki was combative. He is facing trial on two fronts. He is being tried at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) for allegedly falsifying his asset declaration and for alleged forgery in concert with civil servants, who allegedly violated the law by amending the House Rules to suit a particular agenda. The former Kwara State governor has been crying foul, saying that the executive was victimising him because it has not overcome the shock of his emergence as the Senate President, despite its hostility to the process that paved the way for his emergence. He has attributed his ordeal to the antics of a cabal, a tiny executive within the broad executive, which has cowed others under the weight of its power and influence.

Ironically, the Senate President was accused of being a member of a cabal under the administration of the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, when, following a visit to Saudi Arabia, the cabal announced that the ailing President was well.

Saraki fired salvos at the Federal Government. He said the executive has infringed on the fundamental principle of separation of powers in a presidential system. The Senate, he argued, was at liberty to conduct its affairs as an independent arm. Malami has countered him, saying that the alleged forgery constituted a serious infraction of the law.

According to observers, both Saraki and Ekweremadu may not have approached the court of public opinion with an overwhelming evidence of non-connivance. Was the offence committed or not?

Some activists have observed that it appeared that more energy is being dissipated on partisan and sentimental explanations about why they should not be tried; little legal justification for non-arraignment appeared to have been offered. It is up to them and their lawyers to inflame the legal fireworks in the court when they open their defence.

Saraki’s trial has generated heated debate and controversy, aided by an uncanny media war. But, historically, he is not the first chieftain of a ruling party and a high-ranking officer of the state to be tried.

The first epic trial in this dispensation was that of deposed House of Representatives Speaker Salisu Buhari. At the initial stage, there was uproar in the Green Chamber. Buhari was perceived as an ‘Obasanjo boy.’ The former number three citizen was popular in the House; charming and charismatic. But, the allegations of false education claims and age declaration sank his career. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the then leader of the ruling PDP, to which he belonged, could not save him. Caught in the act, he dragged his feet a little while before owing up. Buhari was consequently tried and convicted. Although he was later pardoned, he went into socio-political oblivion.

Under the Obasanjo administration, another party chieftain, Senator Adolphus Wabara was impeached as Senate President and tried for budget scandal. There were allegations of financial inducement of senators involving the former Senate President, former Education Minister, Prof. Fabian Osuji and some senators. On that note, Wabara’s senatorial career hit the rock. He was removed as the Senate President. Osuji was sacked from the Federal Executive Council (FCE). The case is still in court.

Even before Wabara, Chief Evan Ewerem was removed as Senate President for forgery and inconsistencies in the spelling of his name.

Under the Yar’Adua administration, two ministers were removed, following allegations of financial misappropriation. Former Health Minister, Prof. Adenike Grange, and the Minister of State for Health, Chief Gabriel Duku, were investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). To the consternation of officials of the anti-graft body, the two ministers were misled by civil servants against doing the right thing with unspent funds. They did not benefit personally from the transaction. But they had been removed as ministers in error and the duo were never reinstated.

Prof. Grange, an eminent scholar, accepted her fate, having been cleared. But, Duku, a politician, went to the court. The court ruled that he was not corrupt.

After a successful career spanning over three decades, former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tafa Balogun was tried for corruption. His career ended on a sour note. He was handcuffed by junior officers who dragged him on the floor. Balogun was tried and convicted. His saving grace was the plea bargaining.

The governors who served under the Obasanjo presidency were not spared. Joshua Dariye (Plateau), Dieprieye Alamieyeiseigha (Bayelsa), Rashidi Ladoja (Oyo) and Ayo Fayose (Ekiti) were not insulated from investigation by the EFCC.

Amid the controversies that engulfed their tenures, Dariye lost power for six months as a state of emergency was declared in Plateau; Alamieyeseigha and Fayose were impeached, although the court later ruled that Fayose’s removal violated the due process. Dariye, who is still facing trial and the late Alamieyeseigha belonged to the PDP. Fayose is still in the PDP. Alhaji Ladoja,  whose impeachment generated controversies, challenged his removal from the lower court to the Supreme Court, which ordered his reinstatement.

Fayose’s fate under the Obasanjo and now under the Buhari administration demonstrates the limitation to the efficacy of immunity prayers.

Lawyers have referred the governor to the Supreme Court ruling that, despite the fact that a governor cannot be prosecuted, he can be investigated. Investigation is a prelude to, and indeed, the foundation of trial.

Also, under the Obasanjo administration, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar was investigated by an administrative panel, which indicted him, despite his immunity. But, he took his battle to the court and won. The court ruled that he cannot be excluded from the electoral process merely because he was indicted by a non-judicial panel.

Other PDP chieftains, who were tried in the past included former Minister of Internal Affairs, Chief Sunday Afolabi, former Housing Minister, Mrs. Mobolaji Osomo, and former Senate President, Chuba Okadigbo.

The National Identity Card scandal led to the arrest, detention and trial of Afolabi, who was a PDP elder and personal friend of the former President. Mrs. Osomo was removed as minister over a housing scandal. But, investigation later showed that she did not take any action for selfish interest. Although she was cleared, she never regained her ministerial seat. Okadigbo’s undoing was the granting of anticipatory approval.

Also the first female House of Representatives Speaker, Patricia Olubunmi-Etteh, was sacked by the PDP-dominated Green Chamber for inflating the contract for the rehabilitation of her official quarters. Her removal paved the way for Dimeji Bankole.

Why should the polity be heated up because Saraki is being tried for alleged false declaration of assets and alleged falsification of Senate rules? In both cases, he has alleged persecution instead of stepping out confidently to prove his innocence in court or at the tribunal. This is certainly not how to be the leader of men and women who claim to be highly distinguished.