By Ebitonye Akpodigha
Nigeria’s Senate President, Mr Bukola Saraki, has lost his efforts to halt his trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) in Abuja.
Mr Saraki is facing charges bordering on false declaration of assets.
He challenged the trial at the Appeal Court, pointing out that the CCT lacked the jurisdiction to entertain charges against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) on behalf of the Federal Government.
At the ruling in Abuja on Thursday (today), the five-man panel of the Court of Appeal dismissed the Senate President’s suit.
The judges were unanimous in their decision.
The ruling, read by Justice Abdul Aboki, who led the panel, held that Mr Saraki’s appeal was unmeritorious.
The court resolved all the nine grounds of appeal against Mr Saraki and affirmed the power of the tribunal to entertain and try him for the charges brought against him.
With this development, the trial of the Senate President would resume at the CCT on November 7 and 8, 2016.