The circus show in the leadership of the Nigerian Upper legislative House, the senate, reminds one of the proverbial banana peels which, to many watchers of Nigerian politics, has remained the bane of many occupants of the senate presidency since the birth of current democratic dispensation in 1999.

But for Dr Bukola Saraki, the Senate President of the 8th National Assembly, his dream of leading the 109 members of the Red Chamber may have suffered a terrible setback during the week as he was not only served with a bench warrant of arrest by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja last week, but was docked last Wednesday on a 13 count charge bordering on false declaration of assets leveled against him by the Code of Conduct Bureau CCB.

Some have argued that the development is enough for the senate president to step aside as was usually the case in any sane society.

However, the former Governor of Kwara State, finally succumbed to the court's summons after a frantic legal battle to stop his trial, a development which many viewed with suspect for the country's No 3 citizen if he had no skeleton in his cupboard.

The Saraki saga, it would be recalled, started with his trial by CCB for alleged under-declaration and anticipatory declaration of assets scheduled to commence penultimate Friday, a development which many believed could have kick-started the Buhari war against corruption.

Saraki, an APC senator, who was alleged to have made false declaration of his assets, was also accused of owning an American Express credit card account during his tenure as governor in abeyance of Public officials Act which forbids a public official from operating foreign accounts while in office. But Saraki, in a deft political move, shunned the Code of Conduct Tribunal and asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the tribunal's proceedings against him, stating that the tribunal was not competent to try him. However, the tribunal chairman issued a warrant compelling the Inspector General of Police to arrest the Senate President.

The warrant spurred Saraki to go to the Appeal Court, asking it to quash the warrant and to stop the proceedings of the tribunal. However, the two courts on Monday, simultaneously, refused his requests, causing Saraki to finally appear before the tribunal.

Saraki's latest move appeared not strange to some analysts but was reminiscent of a case brought against him by the Special Fraud Unit of the Nigeria Police in April 2012. The Senate President, who was then a two term senator, was invited by the police over an alleged N9.7bn loan scam, did not honour the invitation but was subsequently declared wanted. But instead of turning himself in, Saraki obtained an interim injunction restraining the police from threatening to arrest him or infringe on his rights pending the determination of the substantive suit.

But, in what could have been a voyage into a familiar terrain for Saraki, the courts were resolutely affirmative in prosecuting the senate president and his arraignment was done last Tuesday. Hardly had the former Kwara State governor entered the dock when a protracted legal argument ensued between his lead Counsel, Joseph Daudu and Rotimi Jacobs standing in for the Federal Government.

Explaining how Saraki ran to both the Federal High Court and the Appeal Court in Abuja with different applications all in a bid to stop the proceeding of the tribunal, Jacobs said: "My lords, having exhausted and overstretched the legal process and failed, the Appeal Court ordered him to come here and face his trial.

"This court should not be taken for granted anymore. The accused person was a member of the 7th Senate; they were the ones that made the law. They saw the lapses and their effort to sanitize our criminal justice system, modified the law to the effect that an accused must enter his plea first before raising preliminary objections. That is what is provided in section 396 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, ACJA, 2015.

In his defence, Saraki's lawyer delved into another line of argument, contending that going by paragraph 18(1) of the Fifth Schedule to the 1999 constitution, the proceeding of the CCT could not be classified as a criminal trial.

He further argued that under the law, where the CCT found that a public officer contravened any provision of the Code of Conduct, such person could be punished by being asked to vacate the office he/ she occupies, disqualification, seizure and forfeiture of assets in contention, or made to suffer any other penalty as may be imposed by the National Assembly.

"This court is not empowered to try criminal cases. This tribunal is like a disciplinary committee that is meant to punish politicians, not a court where Section 6 of the ACJA applies", Daudu, argued. Having failed to persuade the tribunal, a visibly worried Saraki strode into the dock.

As the court clerk read the first count of the charge to him, the accused took time to lecture the tribunal on the appropriate course of action it ought to have taken before docking him over alleged false declaration of assets. He complained that he was never afforded the opportunity by the CCB to clarify whatever disparity it observed in the assets he declared while in office as the Governor of Kwara State.

Saraki, who addressed the court from the dock, said: "I am a firm believer in the rule of law. I am happy that some of the good works the senate has done in justice administration have been made reference to. We were the ones that passed the Code of Conduct Bureau Act.

"I just want to make this brief introduction to show you that I believe in the process of the rule of law. Section 3(d) of the CCB & Tribunal Act says that, if there is a breach in asset declaration, the CCB shall refer the matter to the CCT, after giving a defendant an opportunity to either confirm if those facts were true or not, then the matter shall be referred to the tribunal. I felt that the CCB should have called me according to the law because we have been talking about new Nigeria. We have been talking about Nigeria going forward."

The embattled Senate President was granted bail on personal recognition by the tribunal which also adjourned the matter till October 21, 22 and 23 to hear Saraki's preliminary objections. Meanwhile, the Saraki saga has been a study case for academic discourse among some of the nation's legal luminaries.

For Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and activist, the judicial system was flawed such that only the poor could be convicted while the rich continue to get away. He added that once the government has created an enabling environment for people to expose corruption just as Buhari has done, and the anti-graft agencies are given the opportunity to prosecute cases of corrupt people, things will begin to change.

His words: "Under the current political and judicial systems, the rich are never harassed. Ours is the only country in the world where a rich man can suspend his trial. It does not happen in any modern state. That you can ask for a stay of proceedings to suspend your trial for years. Or you go to a court to ask for an interim or perpetual injunction that you cannot be tried. The poor cannot do that".

Speaking in similar vein, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), a Professor of Law who is also the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on War Against Corruption, says a new genre of senior advocates now exists and their sole means of existence is to stall cases, especially corruption cases. He said, "Many judges, in my view, foolishly in the past, played along with these senior advocates. They abandon the main case and concentrate on the preliminary objection, which may take perhaps a year or two. Meanwhile, the substantive issue of corruption is suspended.

The NBA President, Mr. Augustine Alegeh (SAN) in his submission said, "The Act is being enforced and it takes time to feel the impact. It is a federal law and is only effective in the federal courts and in Abuja only. It must be domesticated in the states for it to apply in the states."

A new twist was added to the ongoing Saraki's trial by Dr Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan in a Tweet recently.

According to him, the ongoing ordeal of the Senate President, may be an interesting soap opera. He says. "But to more discerning minds it is nothing short of a tragic comedy. Over the years, Nigerian politicians fail over and over again to convince anybody that they actually learn anything from our checkered political history. "I am personally not a supporter of Dr Saraki and for good reason. He spearheaded the demolition of the PDP and the eventual catastrophic electoral misfortune of the Goodluck Jonathan's Presidency.

"Neither am I a detractor of the Senate President. However, as a veteran politician I accept that all is fair in love and in war and as they say the end justifies the means.

But what is currently going on is ominous and dangerous and will require wisdom and extreme tact from all the dramatis personae". If Saraki's current ordeals eventually lead to his impeachment as the senate president, he would be joining the ranks of Evans Enwerem, Adolphous Wabara, Late Chuba Okadigbo who had fallen victim of the proverbial banana peel.