Senators urge Buhari to stop Attorney-Gen.
I’m innocent, says Dep. Senate President
pparently shocked that the stage is set for the trial
of its key officials for alleged forgery, the Senate
has launched a battle to stave off a major crisis.
It yesterday accused the Executive of attempting to
force out its leaders and named Attorney General
Abubakar Malami leader of the plot. President
Muhammadu Buhari, the Senate said, should tell
Malami to pull the brakes on the plot.
In a statement, Media and Public Affairs Committee
Chairman Senator Sabi Abdullahi said the reopening
of the case by the police posed a danger to the
autonomy of the legislature.
Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy have
been charged with alleged forgery of the Senate
Rules to pave the way for their 2015 election. They
both deny any wrong doing.
To the Senate, charging the officials is
“unconstitutional” because the matter has been
dealt with at plenary.
The statement reads: “After reading in the national
newspapers and online platforms of the planned
charges of forgery and conspiracy preferred against
the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki,
his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, immediate
past Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu
Maikasuwa and the Clerk of the Senate, Mr. Ben
Efeturi and reviewing the circumstances leading to
the filing of these charges, we are compelled to
alert the good people of Nigeria and the
international community, that our democracy is in
danger and that the attempt by the Executive Arm of
the Federal Government to muzzle the legislature
and criminalise legislative processes in order to
cause leadership change in the National Assembly
is a return to the era of impunity and lack of
respect for due process which we all fought to
abolish.
“We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to please
call his Attorney General and Minister of Justice,
Mr. Abubakar Malami, to order. The Senate of the
Federal Republic voted freely to elect its leadership
into office and continuing attempts to change that
leadership through the wanton abuse of judicial
processes cannot stand in the eyes of the world.
“It is clear that the Attorney General and party
leaders behind this action either lack the
understanding of the underlining principles of
constitutional democracy, the concept of separation
of powers, checks and balances and parliamentary
convention or they just simply do not care if the
present democracy in the country survives or
collapses in their blinded determination to get
Saraki and Ekweremadu by all means necessary,
including abuse of office and sacking the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Nigerian people have enough economic
hardship at this time requiring the full attention and
cooperation of the three arms of government,
instead of these attempts to distract and politicise
governance.
“We are in a state of economic emergency such
that what the National Assembly needs at this time
are executive bills and proposals aimed at resolving
the crises of unemployment, currency depreciation,
inflation, crime and insecurity.
“What the National Assembly needs now are
executive bills to build and strengthen institutions to
earn revenues, fight corruption and eliminate waste.
Instead, we are getting hostile actions aimed at
destabilising the National Assembly, distracting
senators from their oversight functions and ensuring
good and accountable governance.
“We must make it clear here to the individuals in
the Executive arm and party leadership behind these
plots not to mistake the maturity and hand of co-
operation being extended to the Presidency by the
legislature as a sign of weakness.
“The National Assembly bent backwards to
accommodate various infractions and inefficiencies
in pursuit of inter-arms co-operation and national
interest. We did not follow up the various
infractions because we believe there are bigger
issues which the government has to attend to in
order to ensure that every Nigerian have food on his
table and live comfortably in a secure environment.
We know that the country is actually in a state of
economic emergency and all hands must be on
deck.
“This latest plot is directed at forcing a change of
leadership in the Senate or, in the extreme case,
ground the Red Chamber of the National Assembly.
Or how do one (sic) interpret a move in which the
two presiding officers are being set up to be
remanded in Kuje Prison or incapacitated from
sitting at plenary through a day-to-day trial on a
matter that is purely an internal affair of the Senate.
“This obviously is a dangerous case of violation of
the independence of the legislature, undue and
unnecessary interference in the internal affairs of the
Senate and blatant abuse of the judicial process.
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 implication is that any matter that fails on the
floor of the National Assembly will now be taken to
the Police, thereby endangering every Senator and
House member.
“This current move clearly runs contrary to the
Doctrine of Separation of Powers and Checks and
Balances which are fundamental to the successful
operation of the Presidential System of government.
“It runs counter to the principle outlined by the
Supreme Court in the Adesanya Vs Senate case
where it was held that nobody should seek to use
the courts to achieve what he or she has failed to
push through on the floor of the National Assembly.
“This present effort, therefore, is clearly a coup
against the legislature with the ignoble aim to
undermine its independence and subject the law
making institution to the whims and caprices of the
executive. It is a plan to return Nigeria to the
dictatorial era which we have, as a nation, voted to
reject.
“It is a dangerous trend with grave implications for
the survival of our democracy and the integrity of
the component institutions. This rule of men as
against the rule of law is also the reason why the
war against corruption, one of the cardinal
objectives of the present administration, is losing
credibility because people perceive it to be
selective and, in most cases, aimed at settling
political or partisan scores.
“The Rules of the Senate and how the institution
elects its leadership are internal affairs. The Rules
of a new Senate are provided by the National
Assembly bureaucracy. It has always been so since
1999.
“After the inauguration of the Senate, if Senators
have objections to any part of the Rules, they can
follow the procedure for changing it. Senators of
the Eighth Senate have no control on the rules
applied in the elections of June 9, 2015 because
until after their inauguration, they were only
Senators-elect, and therefore mere bystanders in the
affairs of the Senate.
“We therefore urge all Nigerians and the
International Community to rise up and condemn
this blatant attempt to subject the legislature to the
control, whims and caprices of the executive.
“If the Legislative branch falls, democracy fails as
there will be no other institution empowered by the
Constitution to check and balance the enormous
powers of the Executive branch.
“We also call on the judiciary as the last hope to
save our constitutional democracy and stand up for
the rule of law, by doing that which is right in this
case”.


http://www.newsheadlines.com.ng/nation-newspapers/2016/06/20/senate-agf-leads-plot-to-jail-saraki-ekweremadu/

if your hands are clean, go to the law courts and defend yourselves . simple.

Babacele:
if your hands are clean, go to the law courts and defend yourselves . simple.

The hand of the court is not clean

naijaking1:


The hand of the court is not clean

explain to us you that know..
...we are listening. Abi if PMB wan use power remove the 2 alleged forgers since, dem no go dey jail since? so explain to us how the hands of the courts have been soiled ,Ipob.