The Federal Government has failed in providing substantial evidence to back up one of the charges against Saraki who is currently standing trial at the CCT over allegations of corruption and false declaration of assets.
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki
The primary prosecution witness, Mr. Michael Wetkas, in the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) trial of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, may have created another major pothole for the federal government’s prosecution team, as he has stated on cross-examination that there was insufficient evidence to sustain Count 11 of the 16 paragraph indictment against the Senate President.
Paul Usoro (SAN), who led the cross-examination of Wetkas on Wednesday proceedings, steered Wetkas through a series of questions to try to figure out how the Federal Government arrived at its conclusion to bring Charge 11 against Saraki, a former two-term Governor of Kwara State.
Wetkas, who is also an operative of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the lead witness in the case, admitted that he never asked the defendant about the mortgage alluded to in Count 11, and neither did he see the mortgage agreement to confirm the ownership of the property in question.
The EFCC witness also admitted to the fact that no current evidence shows the location and/or description of the property referred to in Count 11 (No. 37 A Global Road, Lagos) as he was not entirely sure if the Global Road in question was in Ebute Meta, Lagos or Ikoyi, Lagos.
Following the revelations, the tribunal adjourned the trial to Wednesday, May 25th, 2016 for further cross-examination.