THE Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) yesterday dismissed the allegation of illegal operation of foreign bank accounts by former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, while he was the governor.And in a quick reaction, the Action Congress of Nigeria leader described the verdict as a vindication of his claim that it was all persecution.The tribunal quashed the three-count charge preferred against him by the Federal Government relating to the alleged offence on the score that it was defective.The government had arraigned Tinubu at the tribunal for allegedly operating 16 foreign bank accounts between 1999 and 2007 while he held sway as governor of Lagos State. But Tinubu through his counsel, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), erected legal impediment vide a preliminary objection against the government's bid to bring him to justice on a charge he said was merely persecutory and incompetent.Delivering the tribunal's verdict on Tinubu's preliminary objection, challenging the competence of the charge as well as the jurisdiction of the tribunal to try him in Abuja, Chairman of the tribunal, Danladi Yakubu Umar, agreed with Olanipekun that the charges were 'indeed defective and incompetent.'Accordingly, the tribunal quashed the entire amended charges after holding that they did not establish a prima facie case against the accused person.In reaching that decision, the tribunal faulted the amended charge to the effect that it was not brought properly before the tribunal.It said: 'The amended charge was not properly brought before us. It was supposed to be subjected to our analysis to determine whether or not a prima facie case has been established against the accused person.'The leave which the tribunal gave for the preferring of charges against the accused person only relates to the original one-count charge which has since been withdrawn but not the present amended charge.'It amounted to an ambush against the accused person and the court and where a court discovered that the process has been abused, the proper order to make is to dismiss the case. The charge here is an abuse and it is hereby dismissed.'The tribunal continued: 'No proof of evidence was attached to the amended charge or summary of affidavit evidence. How on earth will the tribunal determine whether a prima facie case has been established against the accused person''The amended charge did not adduce evidence that the accused has been operating the foreign accounts by proxies or trustees but that he personally operates the accounts. It is the law that the arguments of counsel no matter how brilliant cannot take the place of pleadings.'In the circumstances, I hold that no prima facie case has been made against the accused person. The non-filling of affidavit evidence affects the entire three-count charge and it is hereby quashed and the accused person is discharged.'After the verdict, Tinubu, the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), described the whole trial as a waste of public fund aimed at tarnishing his image.Tinubu, who thanked lawyers, supporters and the tribunal for its courage, said: 'How many years since I left office' How many years has it taken them to do investigations to verify all the details instead of tarnishing the image I built professionally over the years''After office, there is life. After public office, there must be opportunities to do other jobs, to enter into business partnership or whatever I chose to do. They have ruined many of that in the process. I salute the courage of the tribunal. They showed that in this country if you have many like them who would uphold the value of justice and not determine it by influence of corruption, the judiciary would indeed be the last hope of the common man.'In fact, the Attorney General of the Federation shouldn't have taken this case to court. Who is paying the bill of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Alex Izinyon' The public should ask questions.'In a statement by Tinubu media office, the former governor also said: I thank God for today and for this judgment in my favour. Today's verdict shows there is still hope for this country. That the judiciary can still dispense justice with judges on the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). They are courageous judges who dispensed justice without fear or favour.'I thank my legal team, led by the indefatigable Wole Olanipekun, SAN, for their brilliant work. I am happy this has come to an end. The attempt to rubbish my name based on unsubstantiated charges, as I said, would fail. After my time in political office, I should enjoy my rights of going into personal business.'I will however take appropriate actions after consultations with my team because my reputation was smeared and the lives of my wife and daughters were disrupted. In fact, my daughter's account with just 3,500 was closed in London because of these unproven allegations: a young girl and her banking transactions stopped.'Today's judgment opens a new chapter in the dispensation of justice for our country. No one should ever be judged guilty of flimsy charges again'.The Lagos State chapter of the ACN has applauded the tribunal for dismissing the charges brought up against Tinubu. The party says that by that ruling, the tribunal has demonstrated that justice is still obtainable even in an atmosphere of petty politics and funny contrivances.In a statement in Lagos by the Lagos State Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Joe Igbokwe, the party said the court ruling was a vindication of its National Leader whose fault was that he was seen as a threat to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)'s desire to hold the country hostage till eternity. The party said that the ACN would remain undaunted in its mission to end the bad rule of the PDP despite the scheming of the party.
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