*Deputy senate president writes letter to.
UK,EU,US.
*Attorney General to appear before senate.
Roughly 24 hours after his arraignment, the deputy senate president
has made an attempt to put the international community on red alert on
what he feels is a plot to kill Nigeria's democracy. In the letter
which was written to the UK and copied to the European Union, and the
governments of the United States, Senator Ike Ekweremadu asked for
fair judgement on his involvement in the alleged forgery of senate
rules.
On June 21th, Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu were arraigned at
an Abuja court on a two count charge that read: "That
you, Salisu Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr.
Olubukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, on or
about June 9, 2015, at the National Assembly
complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the
jurisdiction of this court, conspired amongst
yourselves to forge the Senate Standing Order,
2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed
the offence of conspiracy, punishable under
Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Law."
And yesterday 28th June, the court had another hearing on the case
which also involved two members of the house of assembly, a former
chief clerk and his deputy, the court granted the four defendants
conditional bail. Thereafter, the defendants met the bail conditions
and left the court grounds
But hours later, Senator Ekeremadu has decided to take up a plea
to the international community querying the rationale behind his
arraignment. The two paged latter was titled: "Re: Trumped up Charges
Against the Presiding Officers of the Eighth Senate: Nigerian
Democracy is in Grave Danger"
Accompanying the letter were attachments including copies of the
court summons and other relevant documents relating to the case. He
urged the international community to take time to go through the
documents and decide if the procedure was proper, or was just some
scheme to exterminate and emasculate a top ranking member of the
opposition in the senate. He insisted that the prosecution was purely
not justifiable at all because neither his name nor Saraki's name were
mentioned in the petition written by the senate, not even in the
papers used by the police to investigate the case.
He also alleged in the letter that he was never given an
opportunity to fair hearing on the matter and that during the
investigation the police did not ask him any questions or even make
efforts to query. He said he was charged to court straight from
detention.
He added the the matter to the list of other events involving
"prosecution of government officers, targeted arrests of principal
opposition members and continual and indefinite detention of
opposition officers inspite of disapproving voices and also the
marginalisation of the South East and South South". He termed these "a
clear violation of the constitution and as well a threat to a hard
earned democracy.
The letter read in part:
"I wish to appeal to you to kindly find time to read through these
annexures including the petitions by members of the Senate Unity
Forum, persons interrogated and the police report to see if our names
appeared anywhere on these documents. You may thereafter conclude if
the Federal Government acting through the Attorney General of the
Federation has any justifications whatsoever to generate our names for
trial".
"Moreover, the rules and principles of fair hearing have not been
adhered to because the police have neither interracted with me nor the
president of the senate up till this time"
Ekweremadu also made referrence to an attempt made on his life on
November 17,2015, and queried why the security agents had not moved a
foot in investigating the matter. He said that "all these" culminated
to a plot to eliminate a principal representative of a marginalised
section of the masses-the South East and South South.
There are suggestions that executive(presidency) is displeased
with the emergence of Saraki as the president of the senate in place
of APC preferred choice Senator Ahmed Lawal. Senator Saraki had defied
the wishes of his original party APC by consenting to the demands of
PDP members who insisted that their support for his bid for presidency
will only be on the condition that he picked Ekweremadu as his running
mate for deputy. This propably angered APC who had preferred Saraki to
pick Lawal. This explains why the executive could be in a conspiracy
to handicap the legislature. That is if their plans to kick out Saraki
and his deputy and install their preferred choice does not work.
Tension in the house:
the prosecution and arraignment of the senate president and his
deputy has continued to sustain so much unease and heat in the senate.
Supporters of the president and his deputy have proceeded to
strategise plans that will counter the schemes of a 'shady' executive.
Earlier last week, the PDP cabals in the senate had passed a vote of
no confidence on the executive led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. This
means that proposals and policies will now face very stiff opposition
and criticism at the senate.
For now, the senate is on break, and the president is
observing religious obligations. Femi Adesina, the media
representative of the President of the executive, Gen Buhari has said
that the President will not comment on Ekweremadu's letter.
*AGF to appear before senate committee: The
Attorney General of the Federation has been summoned to appear before
the senate committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters
tommorrow 30th June to explain why he chose to prosecute the forgery
case. The AGF was supposed to present himself at the senate summon
last thursday, but was unable to, and the date will now be tommorrow.
The move to invite the AGF for question comes after Senator
Dino Melaye of Kogi West zone insisted that the AGF should by
questioned for re-opening a case that was previously dropped by
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a High court in Abuja. He termed it "a
threat to democracy". Should the AGF Mr.Malami honour the invitation,
he sure will be aggressively queried for picking up a case that wasn't
supposed to be his business. Justice Kolawale,last year had ruled that
the alleged case of senate rule forgery was a chamber affair and
should be settled out of court.
UK,EU,US.
*Attorney General to appear before senate.
Roughly 24 hours after his arraignment, the deputy senate president
has made an attempt to put the international community on red alert on
what he feels is a plot to kill Nigeria's democracy. In the letter
which was written to the UK and copied to the European Union, and the
governments of the United States, Senator Ike Ekweremadu asked for
fair judgement on his involvement in the alleged forgery of senate
rules.
On June 21th, Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu were arraigned at
an Abuja court on a two count charge that read: "That
you, Salisu Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr.
Olubukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu, on or
about June 9, 2015, at the National Assembly
complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the
jurisdiction of this court, conspired amongst
yourselves to forge the Senate Standing Order,
2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed
the offence of conspiracy, punishable under
Section 97 (1) of the Penal Code Law."
And yesterday 28th June, the court had another hearing on the case
which also involved two members of the house of assembly, a former
chief clerk and his deputy, the court granted the four defendants
conditional bail. Thereafter, the defendants met the bail conditions
and left the court grounds
But hours later, Senator Ekeremadu has decided to take up a plea
to the international community querying the rationale behind his
arraignment. The two paged latter was titled: "Re: Trumped up Charges
Against the Presiding Officers of the Eighth Senate: Nigerian
Democracy is in Grave Danger"
Accompanying the letter were attachments including copies of the
court summons and other relevant documents relating to the case. He
urged the international community to take time to go through the
documents and decide if the procedure was proper, or was just some
scheme to exterminate and emasculate a top ranking member of the
opposition in the senate. He insisted that the prosecution was purely
not justifiable at all because neither his name nor Saraki's name were
mentioned in the petition written by the senate, not even in the
papers used by the police to investigate the case.
He also alleged in the letter that he was never given an
opportunity to fair hearing on the matter and that during the
investigation the police did not ask him any questions or even make
efforts to query. He said he was charged to court straight from
detention.
He added the the matter to the list of other events involving
"prosecution of government officers, targeted arrests of principal
opposition members and continual and indefinite detention of
opposition officers inspite of disapproving voices and also the
marginalisation of the South East and South South". He termed these "a
clear violation of the constitution and as well a threat to a hard
earned democracy.
The letter read in part:
"I wish to appeal to you to kindly find time to read through these
annexures including the petitions by members of the Senate Unity
Forum, persons interrogated and the police report to see if our names
appeared anywhere on these documents. You may thereafter conclude if
the Federal Government acting through the Attorney General of the
Federation has any justifications whatsoever to generate our names for
trial".
"Moreover, the rules and principles of fair hearing have not been
adhered to because the police have neither interracted with me nor the
president of the senate up till this time"
Ekweremadu also made referrence to an attempt made on his life on
November 17,2015, and queried why the security agents had not moved a
foot in investigating the matter. He said that "all these" culminated
to a plot to eliminate a principal representative of a marginalised
section of the masses-the South East and South South.
There are suggestions that executive(presidency) is displeased
with the emergence of Saraki as the president of the senate in place
of APC preferred choice Senator Ahmed Lawal. Senator Saraki had defied
the wishes of his original party APC by consenting to the demands of
PDP members who insisted that their support for his bid for presidency
will only be on the condition that he picked Ekweremadu as his running
mate for deputy. This propably angered APC who had preferred Saraki to
pick Lawal. This explains why the executive could be in a conspiracy
to handicap the legislature. That is if their plans to kick out Saraki
and his deputy and install their preferred choice does not work.
Tension in the house:
the prosecution and arraignment of the senate president and his
deputy has continued to sustain so much unease and heat in the senate.
Supporters of the president and his deputy have proceeded to
strategise plans that will counter the schemes of a 'shady' executive.
Earlier last week, the PDP cabals in the senate had passed a vote of
no confidence on the executive led by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. This
means that proposals and policies will now face very stiff opposition
and criticism at the senate.
For now, the senate is on break, and the president is
observing religious obligations. Femi Adesina, the media
representative of the President of the executive, Gen Buhari has said
that the President will not comment on Ekweremadu's letter.
*AGF to appear before senate committee: The
Attorney General of the Federation has been summoned to appear before
the senate committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters
tommorrow 30th June to explain why he chose to prosecute the forgery
case. The AGF was supposed to present himself at the senate summon
last thursday, but was unable to, and the date will now be tommorrow.
The move to invite the AGF for question comes after Senator
Dino Melaye of Kogi West zone insisted that the AGF should by
questioned for re-opening a case that was previously dropped by
Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a High court in Abuja. He termed it "a
threat to democracy". Should the AGF Mr.Malami honour the invitation,
he sure will be aggressively queried for picking up a case that wasn't
supposed to be his business. Justice Kolawale,last year had ruled that
the alleged case of senate rule forgery was a chamber affair and
should be settled out of court.
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