Saraki, Ekweremadu, others to face Forgery Litigation

It appears the storm is not yet over for the embattled Senate President Bukola Saraki as SECURITY MONITOR gathers the Federal Government is poised to press forgery charges against him and his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.

The suit against the two presiding officers of the Senate, which flow from last year’s Senate leadership election, is coming more than a year after police investigations into the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rules 2015. The move was, however, being interpreted in quarters as another dimension in the quasi-battle between the presidency and the legislature directed at paralysing the Senate with the simultaneous prosecution of the two presiding officers.

Also charged with the two presiding officers are the immediate former Clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa and his deputy, Mr. Bennedict Efeturi.

The police report on the issue exclusively reported by Vanguard on July 27, 2015, had referred the case to the Attorney General of the Federation for further advice whether the case should be treated as a criminal case or part of the internal affairs of the Senate.

The case against the quartet marked CR/219/16 between the Federal Government of Nigeria (Complainant) and Salisu Abubakar Maikasuwa, Benedict Efeturi, Dr. Olubukola Saraki, and Ike Ekweremadu (Defendants), has been assigned to Justice Yusuf Haliru of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

It was further gathered that the suit borders on a two-count charge of “Criminal Conspiracy, contrary to Section 97 of the Penal Code Law” and “Forgery contrary to 362 of the Penal Code Law,” against Ekweremadu and others.