With the
failure of the battle to stave off his trial by the Code of Conduct
Tribunal (CCT) for alleged false assets declaration at the Supreme Court
last Friday, Senate President Bukola Saraki, on conviction risks 14
years jail term, losing his position, 10 years ban from holding public
office and forfeiture of any asset related to the alleged offence.
The Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal
Act empowers the CCT to impose any of the punishments prescribed in
section 23 of the law.
Section 23 of the Act provides: “(1)
Where the tribunal finds a public officer guilty of contravening any of
the provisions of this Act, it shall impose upon that officer any of the
punishments specified under subsection (2) of this section.”
Section 23(2), however, states: “The
punishment which the tribunal shall impose shall include any of the
following: (a) vacation of office or any elective or nominated office as
the case may be; (b) disqualification from holding any public office
(whether elective or not) for a period not exceeding 10 years; (c)
seizure and forfeiture to the state of any property acquired in abuse or
corruption of office.”
The prescribed sanctions are also
provided for in paragraph 18 of Part 1 of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999
Constitution (as amended).
However, to show that the prescribed
sanctions may not be exhaustive, as the Act employs the word “include,”
section 23(3) of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act provides:
“The punishments mentioned in subsection (2) of this section shall be
without prejudice to the penalties that may be imposed by any law, where
the breach of conduct is also a criminal offence under the Criminal
Code or nay other enactment or law.”
Under this provision, if found guilty of
breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers, Saraki may also be
punished for perjury, as his assets declaration was done under oath. The
Criminal Code Act prescribes imposition of 14 years jail for perjury on
condition.
Section 118 of the Criminal Code Act
states: “Any person who commits perjury is liable to imprisonment for 14
years. If the offender commits the offence in order to procure the
conviction of another person for an offence punishable with death or
with imprisonment for life he is liable to imprisonment for life.”