Nigerian Court Clears Senate President of Asset-Hiding Charges

(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria’s Supreme Court cleared Senate President Bukola Saraki of all charges of alleged concealment of assets.

The court upheld Saraki’s appeal of a ruling by the Abuja Court of Appeal that he still had to answer to three of the initial 18 charges brought against him, Kanu Agabi, Saraki’s lawyer, said in an interview in Abuja on Friday.

The counts retained by the appeals court in December were related to alleged false declarations of property purchases and failure to declare outstanding loan liabilities, according to Lagos-based Punch newspaper. Saraki, Nigeria’s most senior public official after President Muhammadu Buhari and his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo, denied the allegations, stemming from his time as governor of the western state of Kwara from 2003 to 2011, saying they were politically motivated.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Malingha Doya in Abuja at dmalingha@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rene Vollgraaff at rvollgraaff@bloomberg.net, Sophie Mongalvy

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