Forgery In The Senate: Federal Government Set To Decide On Ekweremadu, Others Fate

The alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders that was used during the election of the Senate president, Bukola Saraki, will be looked into this week.

This was the submission of the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), who spoke to The Punch on the issue.

Already, the police has investigated the alleged forgery and sent a 13-page report of their findings to the Federal Ministry of Justice for legal advice since July 2015.

The ministry was said to have raised some concerns about some “grey” areas in the police report and sought clarifications from the police authorities.

According to Malami,  his office was studying the file on the case in order to take appropriate steps and would take decision on it.

He said: "It depends on the outcome of the investigation and the analysis of the investigation that was conducted. The file is being studied by my office among others for the purpose of taking appropriate steps.

”We will look into the existing facts to see whether a prima facie case can be said to have occasioned, so that we can take appropriate steps. You can give us a week to allow us to form appropriate opinion.”

Reports surface about five months ago that President Muhammadu Buhari had been briefed by the police on their probe into the forged Standing Order of the Senate. The president received the briefing  in a form of a report.

The report allegedly indicted the National Assembly management, including the clerk, Salisu Maikasuwa.

Recall that On Monday, July 6, a petition by Senator Sulaiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna, APC) was sent to the police concerning the alleged forgery. The police questioned Ekweremadu and Maikasuwa over the issue.

The former Senate president, Senator David Mark, the former Senate leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba, and the former chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, were also quizzed by the police.

The petition alleges that some parts of the 2015 Senate orders differ from the ones ratified by the sixth Senate in 2010 and used by the seventh Senate as Standing Orders in 2011.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the National Assembly has since not reacted to the story about the alleged forgery.

On its part, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had alleged that the All Progressives Congress (APC ) led government plans to arrest Ekweremadu over the allegd forgery.