A counsel to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, Prince Ajibola Oluyede, has faulted the tirade of condemnation that trailed ruling of the Supreme Court over the trial of the senate president at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, stating that notions are clearly misconceived.Making the disclosure through a statement titled, ‘The Supreme Court and the mob hysteria’, Oluyede, who made a particular reference to comments credited to Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and Professor Itse Sagay (SAN), noted that the perception of the eminent lawyers on the ruling were wrong.
Falana was quoted to have said, “It is unfathomable that the Supreme Court decided to return the country to the status quo ante in a rather brazen and bizzare manner”, while Sagay in his opinion noted that, “what the Supreme Court has done is illegal and it is shocking that the Supreme Court would indulge in illegalities”.
According to Oluyede, “the orchestrated tirade against the Supreme Court of Nigeria in respect of daring to do the unthinkable by scuttling the politically motivated stampede to remove Bukola Saraki from his position as Senate President through a wholly unconstitutional trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal is understandable.
“Both eminent lawyers are intolerably wrong and thus give the impression that their per incuriam opinions could only have been motivated by prejudice and not by their well known life long struggle for the public good.”
While noting that those raising the issue against the ruling of the apex court in respect of an issue which is still sub-judice, smacks criminal contempt, he added that it is erroneous for anyone to state that it is illegal to grant a stay of proceedings in criminal proceedings.
“If the Supreme Court perceives that the criminal proceedings against Senator Saraki might have been improperly instigated for any reason it is obliged to join in the fight against corruption by stopping it completely and to this end may properly stay proceedings until it is satisfied that its perception is wrong.”
Lauding the fight against corruption in the country, Oluyede, however, noted that the idea to limit the power of the courts to grant stay of proceedings in criminal trials is not the appropriate way to root out the corruption in the judiciary, adding that the method must not be at the expense of the integrity of the institutions of democracy.
“Care must be taken by the Buhari Government and its advisers not to end up reducing the judiciary to irrelevance under the cover of this “war again
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