Chairman, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar has ordered the Inspector
General of Police, Solomon Arase, to bring Senate President, Bukola
Saraki, before the tribunal on Tuesday, 22 September by 10:00 am.
Saraki on Monday failed to appear before the Code of Conduct Tribunal in
Abuja, where he was expected to take a simple plea of guilty or not guilty
to a 13-count charge of false declaration of assets.
He had refused to appear before the tribunal on Friday,15 September when
he was first summoned.
On Friday, the tribunal issued a bench warrant against the Senate
President, asking the police to arrest him and bring him for trial Monday.
The police claimed that they did not get any warrant to arrest Saraki, who
himself tweeted he was not hiding.
Reports at the weekend indicated that the Senate President would challenge
not just the planned trial on Monday but also the validity of the arrest
warrant, based on legal advice that an order procured on Thursday night
from the Federal High Court in Abuja, ought to have been enough to stop
the Tribunal from sitting on Friday.
The order given by Justice Ahmed Muhammed of the Federal High Court in
Abuja, summoned the CCB and CCT to his court on Monday, the same day that
the trial at the Tribunal was billed to start.