Posted on: 07:33 Fri, 18 Mar 2016



The Code of Conduct Bureau has said there is evidence that the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, while governor of Kwara State between
1999 and 2007, obtained huge bank loans and paid back the loans with funds belonging to the state.

The bureau alleged that Saraki used the bank loans running into billions of naira to acquire landed assets in Lagos, Abuja and London.

The Bureau said it gathered the information from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission which conducted investigations into various petitions written against the Senate President between 2010 and 2012.

The CCB’s position is contained in a counter- affidavit deposed to by one of its operatives, Peter Danladi, in opposition to a fresh motion filed by Saraki to challenge the validity of the 13 counts of false assets declaration instituted against him before the tribunal.

Danladi stated, “That I was informed by Mr.
Yahaya Bello, an operative of the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission in our office
on March 14, 2016 at about 11am and I verily
believe him that:

“The EFCC received various petitions against
the defendant/applicant between 2010 and
2012 alleging acts of corruption, theft, money
laundering etc.

“The EFCC conducted its investigation of the
various petitions and made findings which
showed that the defendant/applicant abused
his office while he was Governor of Kwara
State and was involved in various acts of
corruption as the governor of the state.

“The defendant/applicant borrowed huge sums
of money running into billions from commercial
banks, particularly Guarantee Trust Bank and
used the proceeds of the loan to acquire
several landed properties in Lagos, Abuja and
London while he was Governor of Kwara State.

“As against the defendant using his own
legitimate income to defray the loan, he took
public funds running into billions from Kwara
State Government and lodged same in several
tranches and in cash into his GTB account in
GRA, Ilorin, Kwara State.

“The defendant/applicant’s account officer in
GTB confirmed that the defendant/applicant
gave him several cash in government house to
lodge into the account and in some occasions,
the defendant sent his aides from government
house to give him the cash for lodgment into
his account.

“When EFCC submitted its report to its legal
department and the Federal Ministry of Justice,
the Federal Ministry of Justice formed the
opinion that the offences revealed from the
investigation, particularly as they relate to the
properties acquired by the defendant/applicant
while he was Governor of Kwara State and
various monies sent into his various accounts
outside Nigeria can be better investigated and
prosecuted through the Code of Conduct
Bureau and Tribunal.

“The Office of the Attorney-General of the
Federation then sent the findings and the
evidence gathered during investigation by the
EFCC as a complaint to the Code of Conduct
Bureau for investigation and that the operative
of EFCC would collaborate with the officers of
the bureau for effective investigations.”