The arraignment of Senate President
Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, over the alleged forgery
of the Senate Standing Order, 2015, will now take place on June 27.
Also to be arraigned are a former Clerk of the National Assembly Salisu Maikasuwa and the Deputy Clerk Benedict Efeturi.
Four of them were to be arraigned
yesterday but the accused were not in court following claims that they
had not been served the court summons.
Following the failure to arraign them,
the judge of the Federal High Court of the Federal Capital Territory
(FCT), Jabi Division, gave an order for substituted service following
the claim of the bailiff that he had found it difficult to serve the
accused persons.
Against this backdrop, the notice of arraignment was pasted on the notice board of the National Assembly yesterday.
According to the notice, the case, with
charge number CV/21916, is between the federal government as
“complainant applicant” and defendants listed in the following order:
Salisu Maikasuwa; Benedict Efeturi, Dr. Olubukola Saraki and Ike
Ekweremadu.
The notice read in part: “By oral
application dated 21st June, 2016 moved by D.E Kaswe, Principal State
Counsel FMJ, in this case praying the court for an order of this
Honourable Court granting leave to the complainant application to serve
the criminal summons on the defendants by substituted means to wit by
pasting it at the notice board of the National Assembly, Three Arms Zone
and after hearing D.C. Kaswe with A.A. Kaltingo, Esq, counsel for the
complainant/applicant moved the court orally for the above relief.”
Reacting to the federal government’s
decision to proceed with the prosecution of its principal officers, the
Senate yesterday summoned the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF)
and Minister of Justice, Malam Abubakar Malami, to appear before it
within the next two days to explain the rationale behind federal
government’s decision to charge Saraki and Ekweremadu to court over
alleged forgery of the Senate rules.
The resolution, which arose from a motion
by Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West), further asked the AGF to appear
before it to explain the basis for his action as well as the evidence
for his claims.
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