Senate President Bukola Saraki has allegedly bribed judiciary reporters and ordered them to write favourable reports on his impending trial at the Code of Conduct Tribunal, slated to commence on 11 March, 2016.
Saraki has been accused of false assets declaration while he was governor of Kwara state between 2003 and 2011.
The bribery report published by online investigative news platform Saharareporters claimed that Saraki’s aide, Chuks Okocha met the reporters at Nuek Gardens, in Abuja where he doled N50,000 to each of them.
Saharareporters claimed its undercover investigator was at the venue and heard Okocha, a former journalist with ThisDay, warning the journalists that the senate president would not tolerate anything short of the deal.
It was reportedly agreed that one of the reporters would report Saraki’s trial and, later, syndicate to his colleagues, who are merely expected to re-touch the story lightly before forwarding to their employers for publication.
“An undercover investigator for SaharaReporters was present when Mr. Saraki’s aides met with Judiciary reporters inside an Abuja garden called Nelson Nuek Gardens, and handed each of the reporters the sum of N50,000. The garden is located in the Central Business District of Abuja, quite close to the International Conference Centre.
“Our major source, who was present at the parley, disclosed that all the judiciary reporters covering Mr. Saraki’s case attended the meeting where bribes were handed out.
“Our two sources disclosed that Chuks Okocha, a special assistant to the Senate President, distributed Mr. Saraki’s cash largesse to the reporters.
“At the meeting, the senator’s aides struck a deal with the reporters to have only one of the friendly reporters write a report of the trial which would then be syndicated among all the reporters. It was agreed that each reporter would merely retouch the syndicated report and send it to their medium.”
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