The Office of the Attorney General of the Federation has responded to a suit
seeking to stop investigation into alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders
2015.
Specifically, the office of the Attorney General faulted a suit filed by Senator
Gilber Nnaji, seeking to halt investigation into the alleged forgery.
The Ministry of Justice’s opposition to the suit is contained in the notice of
preliminary objection filed through its Director, Civil Litigation, Mr. Taiwo
Abidogun, asking the court to strike out the suit for not disclosing the personal
interest the plaintiff seeks to protect.
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, has been at the centre of the
controversy of the allegedly forged Senate rules used for the election which
produced Bukola Saraki as the Senate President and Ekweremadu as his deputy
on June 9, shortly after the proclamation of the 8th Senate.
The police had, in the course of investigating the forgery allegation, invited some
principal officers and management officials of the National Assembly for
interrogation.
Nnaji, who is Ekweremadu’s co-senator from Enugu State, had filed the suit
asking the court to stop the police investigation on the grounds that it “is
inspired by a devious petition by the Secretary of the Unity Forum Senators,
solely aimed at unjustly incriminating the office of the Deputy President of the
Senate.”
But in its preliminary objection, the Ministry of Justice contended that the
plaintiff had not shown sufficient interest which conferred on him the right to
institute the action.
“However, in the light of the foregoing, we submit that it will be in the interest
of justice for this matter to be struck out in its entirety as the plaintiff’s suit
has not disclosed or shown that he has any personal remedy arising from the
disclosed cause of action that exceeds that of Senator Ike Ekweremadu or the
Senate as an entity. We urge your Lordship to uphold same,” a written address
accompanying the ministry’s notice of preliminary objection read in part.
The address added that Nnaji had no justification for instituting the suit since
he was only inaugurated as a member of the Senate after the alleged forgery
had taken place.
It read, “My Lord, by paragraphs 16 and 24, most especially paragraph 24, the
said standing orders, the subject of the investigation, came into the hands of
the plaintiff (Nnaji) for the first time when the House was inaugurated.
“How then can the plaintiff be justified in challenging the investigation into an
allegation that occurred prior to his inauguration and how has it affected his
interest?
“We further submit that this is a suit that should rightly be instituted by the
Senate as an entity or, better still, by Senator Ike Ekweremadu whom by the
plaintiff’s affidavit at paragraph 27 is identified as the ultimate targeted of the
petition.”
The police, joined as the first defendant in the suit, had also filed similar notice
of preliminary objection contending that Nnaji lacked the legal competence to
institute the suit.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole on August 4 fixed September 8 for the hearing of an
application filed by another senator, Suleiman Hunkuyi, seeking to be joined as
a defendant in the suit.
The judge, who threatened that the report of police investigation would be
nullified if it was discovered that the action had been taken on the investigation
after the suit was filed, also ordered that the suit be transferred to another
judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who would take over as the vacation judge on
August 10.

K

..jokers in govt. Saraki/Ekweremadu can't work, one just has to vacate for the other..

don't know some over hyped thugs managed to become senators.

What I have noticed about these people is that, when they don't want you there, they'll try their possible best to push you out.

if small issues like dis,dat ought to have being given judgement long b4 nw is taking dis long,i wonder hw d over-hyped corruption investigation/probing of gej's administration will b like.

I will advice buhari to look into our judiciary first to avert making a mockery of himself in his quest to probe corrupt leaders.

Why are they afraid of probe. How can someone because of personal interest slap the whole Nigeria by altering such vital document