Nigerian Senate and Presidency in Crises

The Nigerian Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has written a letter to the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU), United State Congress, European Union Parliament and United State government, and the British government. In a presumed attempt by the Nigerian President to Mohmmadu Buhari to cause a disunity in the Nigerian Democracy.

The Attorney general of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice may also appear before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal matters tomorrow, on his action on Senate president and his deputy and four other senators. On the alleged forging of the senate rule.

Attached to the letter, are copies of necessary document and the court summon order by Ekweremadu deputy Senate.

The letter is titled: Trumped up Charges against the Presiding Officers of the Eighth Senate: Nigerian Democracy is in Grave Danger”, Ekweremadu insisted that Buhari’s government wants to silence him as the highest ranking opposition leader in the country by prosecuting him for alleged forgery.

Ekweremadu said, he was denied fair hearing in the matter, adding that the police did not interact with him before he was charged to court.
He urged the international community to

determine if the trial was not politically motivated, a witch-hunt, barefaced intimidation and an attempt to emasculate him.

 “You may further wish to judge for yourself whether this unfolding scenario, coupled with the clampdown on the opposition, such as targeted arrests and indefinite detention of opposition figures and dissenting voices in spite of court pronouncements and in clear violation of the Nigerian Constitution, as well as the sustained marginalisation of the South-east and South-south geopolitical zones of Nigeria, do not constitute a grave danger to the nation’s hard-won democracy,” he said.

According to the letter: “I wish to forward to you the court summons containing the trumped up charges preferred against my person; the President of the Senate, His Excellency, Senator 

Bukola Saraki, CON; and two others.

“I also wish to appeal to you to kindly find time to read through the annexures – petition by members of the Senate Unity Forum, statements by persons interrogated, and the police report – to see if we appeared anywhere in these documents.

“You may, thereafter, judge for yourself whether the federal government, acting through the Attorney-General of the Federation, has any justification whatsoever to generate our names for trial.

“The list of the accused persons appear to have been politically generated because you cannot by the documents attached, relate any of our names to the offence for which we are now being charged.

“Moreover, the rules and principles of fair hearing have not been adhered to because the police have not interacted with neither me nor the President of the Senate as at the time of writing this letter.

“You may also wish to judge for yourself whether this trial orchestrated against me is not a political trial, calculated witch-hunt, barefaced intimidation, and a clear attempt to emasculate the parliament and silence me as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition in Nigeria.

“Meanwhile, it would also be recalled that an attempt was made on my life on November 17, 2015. The Nigerian security agencies did nothing, even though the incident was duly reported. This is for your information and reflection.”

According to source the arraignment on Monday of Saraki and Ekweremadu has continued to create unrest among senators.
Source: Vanguard/Thisday News

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