Forgery Case: Nigeria’s Democracy In Danger – Senate Alerts International Community
The Senate has again spoken out against the planned arraignment of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu over allegations of forgery and conspiracy, describing it as a “violation of the independence of the legislature,” and alerting the international community that the country’s democracy is in danger.
The Senate spokesman, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, in a statement issued yesterday, stressed that after reading the planned charges of forgery and conspiracy against Saraki, Ekweremadu and others and reviewing the circumstances leading to the filing of same, “we are compelled to alert the good people of Nigeria and the international community that our democracy is in danger and that there is an attempt by the executive to muzzle the legislature and criminalise legislative processes to cause leadership change in the National Assembly.”
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Public Affairs added that it “will be a return to the era of impunity and lack of respect for due process, which we all fought to abolish.”
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While pleading with President Muhammadu Buhari to call the Attorney-General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, to order, Abdullahi said: “The Senate voted freely to elect its leadership into office and continuing attempts to change that leadership through the wanton abuse of the judicial processes cannot stand in the eyes of the world.
“The matter now being criminalised was brought to the plenary of the Senate in session, over a year ago. And because it had no support, it was overruled and roundly defeated in chambers. To now take a matter that was resolved on the floor of the Senate to the police and then make it form the subject of a criminal prosecution of freely elected legislators beats all imagination of free thinking men all over the world,” the statement asserted.
