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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Tinubu’s Trial Begins Today....FG Files More Charges....Security Beefed Up To Stop Thugs Importation!

SECURITY agencies have been put on alert ahead of today's trial of a former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Tinubu, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Abuja, following reports of attempts to disrupt the proceedings.

Sources said all the security agencies in the country had instructed their operatives to stop the planned importation of thugs into Abuja for today's trial of the former governor.

The sources said security agencies viewed the planned disruption of the trial as ill-conceived, especially with the security problems currently being faced in Abuja and other states.

As of last night, it was learnt that orders had gone out to all securitymen manning all entry points into Abuja to disallow anyone perceived to be a political thug from entering the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The security alert followed the accusation by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) was planning to disrupt the trial by importing thugs into Abuja from South-West states.

The PDP said it was aware that 10 busloads of thugs were hired from each of the ACN states to disrupt the trial of Tinubu and cautioned that no individual or group had a monopoly of violence.

The party said it was a surprise that the ACN could become so scared of the trial of Tinubu, even when he was not the first to be so tried.

However, the FCT Police Commissioner, Mike Zuokumor, while reacting to the allegation of the planned disruption of the trial by some hired supporters of the ACN, said it was not possible.

"I don't think there is anything like that, because we will stop it. If everybody should protest over everything, we will then have anarchy and this we will not allow in the FCT," he said.

ACN condemns harassment
The ACN has condemned the harassment of its members by the police, who stopped them from travelling to Abuja to show solidarity with their party leader, on Tuesday.

ACN said stopping the vehicles conveying the party members and confiscating the keys to the vehicles, just to ground them, was nothing but sheer government tyranny against its own people.

Meanwhile, as the Code of Conduct Tribunal docks Tinubu today over alleged operation and maintenance of 16 foreign accounts while in office, contrary to the 1999 Constitution, the Nigerian Tribune was told on Tuesday night that an amended charge containing more counts had been filed at the tribunal by the Federal Government.

It was learnt from a source that the single-count charge earlier filed by the prosecution had been dumped for a three-count charge, which now accused him of false declaration of his assets by not disclosing the accounts in his Code of Conduct form in 2003.

In regular court, the criminal equivalent of the accusation is perjury.

Nigerian Tribune gathered that the case on the operation and maintenance of the said accounts while in office was also joined to the new issues raised.

Alleged deliberate misinformation on the part of the accused was also said to be part of the amendment.

The amended charge was prepared by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and signed by Kyari Ahmed.

The account names however remained unchanged.

The amendment charge, which was reportedly filed at the tribunal on Tuesday, was said to have been accompanied by a motion for the leave of the tribunal to prefer the fresh charge, which indicated that the amended charge had not be served on the accused.

If the motion was challenged by his legal team as expected, then the tribunal would have to rule if the amended charge could replace the old charge.

Nigerian Tribune learnt that lead counsel for President Goodluck Jonathan at the presidential election petition tribunal; Chief Wole Olanipekun, is expected to spear-headed Tinubu's defence at the tribunal, while Dr Alex Izinyon is expected to lead the prosecution charge.

Source: Tribune

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