Date: 2016-04-24

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Adeniyi Micheal Akintola, has declared that the Senate President, Doctor Bukola Saraki is being persecuted at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) because of his emergence as the Senate President.

Chief Akintola who made this declaration in Ilorin, the Kwara State Capital, while answering questions on a Radio Kwara Personality interview programme, Playing Host" said Dr Saraki was not treated fairly.The legal practitioner said the way his trial was going is baffling most judicial officers in the country more so that a precedence on such matter had earlier been set when it involved the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

According to him, he was involved in the trial of Alhaji Abubakar and Senator Tinubu when they were been charged before the CCT for allegation of failure to declare their assets and the panel refused to sit when the members did form quorum.

"It is quite unfortunate that most of the time we play the ostrich in this country, it is like hiding your head in the sand and living your body outside and when it is convenient for us, we do certain things in our own way but when it affects our enemy, we do it the other way round. Am not holding brief for Senator Bukola Saraki, but I believe that what is being done to him is not fair because we cannot have two sets of laws. I was the lead counsel to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar before the code of conduct tribunal. I lead the team and when we disqualified a member of that panel, Professor Oluyode, the panel could no sit because they could not form a quorum that was the case of Atiku Abubakar, and until they brought one M.A. Sanni (SAN) from Ilorin to join them, that panel could not sit. I was in the legal team that defended Asiwaju Bola Tinubu before the code of conduct tribunal and the preliminary objection we raised was sustained but today, the legal profession is being Media driven. There are too much sentiments going on out there. Like I do say, I'm not holding brief for Dr. Bukola Saraki but his not being treated fairly because what is happening today is alien to our law" Lawyer Akintola declared

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria then expressed concern and surprise why the matter involving Senator Saraki would be treated differently stressing that the Nigerian judicial system is justice according to law and not justice according to sentiments.

Chief Akintola added that there is no substitute to the rule of law as it was not possible to separate laws for different people and alleged that the media is currently controlling the legal profession describing it as alien to the Nigerian judicial system.

Lawyer Akintola disclosed that he was the first Nigerian Lawyer that clipped the wing of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) when the court declared that the commission can only screen political party candidates and have no powers to disqualify.

He criticized the award of SAN title to some lawyers saying that it was now based on quota system unlike in the past when it was purely on merit and said the malice in the Nigerian society has crept into the legal profession.