From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) has opened up on why he charged Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu to court.
He said the action was consequent upon the recommendations of the police which investigated allegations of forgery levelled against the duo.
Malami also said his actions can stand the test of any law since he did not act on a vacuum.
Specifically, the minister, who was summoned by the Senate over the issue, explained that he “acted based on a recommendation by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) who, having fully satisfied investigative procedure arising from the petition sent to the Nigerian Police by some aggrieved members of the Red Chambers of the National Assembly alleging that the affected officers altered the rules of the Senate for Dr. Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu to emerge leaders of the Eighth Senate of the National Assembly.”
He further explained that under the 1999 Constitution, only the Attorney General of the Federation has the powers to institute criminal proceedings.
This was contained in a statement issued yesterday by his Media Aide, Salihu Othman Isah.
“Forgery of the Senate Standing Rules cannot be described as the internal business of the National Assembly that is exclusively only in its purview. The Attorney General of the Federation cannot, therefore, be faulted for his decision to initiate legal actions against the accused for alleged forgery after a thorough police investigation of the issue…” he said.
whether there was an amendment of the Senate Standing Rules in 2015 or not.
The case of Adesanya vs Senate which has been seriously touted in its press statement does not support them and they should rather take their plea and defend the action accordingly.
We assure Nigerians that the Attorney General of the Federation will continue to be committed to the rule of law at all times. On this particular forgery case, we believe he should rather be commended for his foresight and political will to carry out his constitutional role to the letter and not to be vilified under any guise.
