Groups protest for and against Saraki’s trial

The ongoing trial of the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) continued to attract negative and positive reactions in his home state and within his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

In Ilorin, scores of youths took to the street to protest his trial, believing that the tribunal has not treated the Senator fairly.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Comrade, and Timi Frank, at the same time, in Abuja, expressed concern over his continuous trial.

In a statement in Abuja, Frank said his concern was based on what the termed “the manifest flaws and the processes leading to Saraki’s arraignment.”

Describing the trial as dangerous, he expressed regret that the leadership of the APC has decided to sit on the fence and watch Saraki swim or sink.

“I sincerely hold that the current trial of Saraki is not only underserved, but amounts to paying a good man with evil. I also want to say that the leaders of our great party have unfortunately remained quiet in the face of evil.

In Ilorin yesterday, the youths ,in a street protest under the aegis of Concerned Youths and Women on CCT, believed that Senator Saraki’s travail is politically-motivated.

The placard-carrying protesters were led by Yinka Dallas and some of the placards read: ‘The judgment of CCT on Saraki is already on the social media by 4am on the day of judgment by Umaru Danladi;’ ‘Saraki’s case is political;’ ‘CCT has two laws, one for one man and one for other Nigerians’ and ‘Sahara Reporters based in United States is an agent of evils.’

Meanwhile, there had been an earlier protest in Ilorin in support of the trial of Saraki at the CCT.

The protest staged by a non governmental organisation, Movement for Genuine Change declared support for the trial at a peaceful rally staged at the Flower Garden, Ilorin it urged the Federal Government to repatriate all the alleged stolen money from the former governor to Kwara State for the payment of civil servants, pensioners and workers in the state.

The group spokesman, Alhaji Tunde Muhammed, told newsmen that Senator Saraki has brought shame to the people through his actions and with his current trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

“He has turned Kwarans to a laughing stock. However, we the People of Kwara are happy that he is now being prosecuted.