allegations that he imported a bullet proof
car
- He says the vehicle in contention was
purchased by the National Assembly
- Saraki's comes on the heels of an
operation by the Nigeria Customs, in which
the residence of a Senator from Kano state
has been sealed
- About 13 vehicles were detained from the
property confiscated by the customs service
Dr Bukola Saraki, the Senate President
of Nigeria, has denied ever importing
any bullet proof car contrary to the
report laid before the Senate.
Saraki made the denial when he
appeared before the Senate Committee
on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions
in Abuja on Monday, March 27 .
Senate Present Bukola Saraki appearing
before a public hearing by Senate
Committee on Ethics on allegation of
clearing of Armored SUV with fake
Custom papers at National Assembly
Abuja. Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan .
He said he had nothing to do with the
vehicle under reference, adding that the
allegation was an attempt to malign his
person.
“I am not (an) importer and at no point
did I import an SUV Range Rover. As you
know, this is a vehicle that is not a
personal vehicle.
“It is a vehicle which was processed
through the National Assembly.
“I don’t know anything about the
importation; I did not appoint any
clearing agent or anything like that.
“Most of the vehicles that are here you
only know when it is delivered to you.
None of this did I import or getting any
agent or going to the port.
“This is not true, those that said it know
it is not true, (the) Customs knows it is
not true.
“This is because we all know that all
treated vehicles have end user certificate
and there it states clearly who the
importer is and these documents are
available and there is no document
anywhere that shows my name.
“So, I want to state categorically that
this is not true and it is important that I
come here and clear my name and put
this matter to rest.
“We all raised the issue of the policy that
is anti-people in the interest of
Nigerians.
“This policy that really had no value at
all and that was why this motion came
up and we debated it in the interest of
Nigerians.
“Unfortunately those who want to fight
back went and thought there was
something to blackmail us with.
“I know the documents you have will
show clearly that it has nothing to do
with me’’ , he said.
The Senate President commended the
committee for giving him a fair hearing.
He said the process would further
strengthen the institution as well as
protect the country’s democracy.
“I believe that this process is good for
us. It will further strengthen our
institution.
“It is a great day for our democracy for
me to come before you as the President
of the Senate.
“We must protect this institution. As
members, we will come and go but we
must protect this institution.
“To ridicule an institution of this
magnitude is not something we should
take lightly and that is why I have taken
the time to be here.
“Today, it is me but tomorrow it will be
another person.
“I think it is part of the sacrifice we are
making in the work that we are doing
that we have this kind of case that did
not hold water.
“We must protect this institution
because this is the only thing we can
leave. The difference between military
rule and democracy is the parliament. 4
“For as long as the parliament is weak,
our democracy can never be strong,’’ he
said.
Saraki reiterated that democracy could
only be strong with a strong parliament.
He added that the parliament would
only be strong if the lawmakers
respected the Standing Order and the
Constitution.
The Senate President noted that it was
his belief in the institution of the
National Assembly and the legislature as
a whole that motivated him to appear
before the committee.
He pointed out that “that is why I told
myself that I must come here no matter
how ridiculous I felt it was “because the
documents are clear.
“There is no where it said I imported it;
it is not my private vehicle" .
NAIJ.COM gathered that the importer of
the car, Tokunbo Akindele, said it was
imported on behalf of Oando Plc in
2015. He denied allegations that Saraki
had any link with the car.
According to him, the car was imported
by the company for the various
operations it had around the country.
He also explained that “at no point did
we submit any fake document for the
clearing of the car.
“We followed all due processes in terms
of payment to the company which
handled the entire process for us. “In
2015, on behalf of the firm that I work
for, Oando PLC, we imported a Range
Rover Bullet Proof SUV vehicle.
“We imported it as the company that
needed to use it for the various
operations that we have around the
country.
“The car took longer than was expected
and by the time it reached Nigeria in
2015, September, we decided that we will
no longer be using the car, so we
effectively parked it.
“We mandated a company offshore to
buy the car, amour the car, ship the car,
clear the car with Customs and just
deliver the car to us as a full-fledged
service.
“We received the car in September 2015
assuming that all of these things were
done.
“All payments were made for the
acquisition, the armouring, the shipping
as well as the clearing of which we have
necessary evidence.’’
He further explained that at no point
did the company receive any
documentation from the National
Assembly in the process of clearing the
car.
“We were not a part of clearing the car,
we were the customer; we were expected
to receive the car for our own use.
“The vehicle was not to be used by Sen.
Bukola Saraki, it was not imported or
acquired for his use at the time the
vehicle came into the country.
“The National Assembly took receipt of
the car through a consignment from us,
through Lanre Shittu Motors in
December 2015."
He said the car was in the country for
two months and with no use, adding
that it was at that point that Oando
released it to Lanre Shittu on
consignment who sold it to the National
Assembly. Chairman of the committee,
Sen. Sam Anyanwu, gave assurance that
the committee will do all within its
powers to ensure that all parties
involved got fair hearing.
While commending the president of the
senate for appearing before the
committee, Anyanwu said the
committee would continue to work for
the advancement of democracy and
protection of the parliament. He said
the customs boss, “will appear before it
on Tuesday to speak on behalf of the
Nigeria Customs Service.’’
READ ALSO: Customs vs Senate: Man
reveals how he transported Saraki's
Range Rover seized by Customs (Video)
Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of
Customs (CGC) Compliance Task Force
has sealed the residence of a senator
from Kano State, after ‘detaining’ 13
vehicles from the property.
Task Force Zonal Commander, Bala
Dole, made this known to the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday.
Dole, who declined to name the senator,
said the vehicles were trailed from
Maigatari, in Jigawa State, following
intelligence report.
But, Nigeria Customs Service Public
Relations Officer in charge of Kano/
Jigawa, Isa Danbaba, confirmed to Daily
Sun, yesterday evening, that the vehicles
were “detained two months ago. It’s
now new detention.”
The vehicles were 12 new Toyota Hilux
and one Land Cruiser Jeep.
Regardless, Dole said 210 other vehicles
were seized, alongside other items,
including foodstuff worth N269.5
million in Kano and Jigawa states,
within eight months.
“Based on the intelligence report, the
vehicles were 30 in number but we were
able to trail 13 of them, 12 of which were
hidden in the senator’s compound.
“We sealed the house and retrieved the
vehicles and they are now in our
custody.”
He said the other items the task force
confiscated during special operations
include; 9,757 bags of rice, 2,916 of
foreign supergetti, 2,770 cartons of
foreign vegetable oil and 999 cartons of
macaroni.
Dole said others were; 889 veils of
second hand clothes, 50 used school
bags, 110 cartons of new foreign shoes,
956 bags of mosquito coil and six fairly
used cars.
“The total value of the seizure made by
the task force since it was established in
July 2016, excluding the 13 Senator’s
vehicles, is N269.5 million,” he said.
“We are yet to determine the cost of the
13 vehicles belonging to the senator.”
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