Forgery Case: Ekweremadu writes letter to International Community; seeks intervention
Wed Jun 29, 2016 07:48:am Politics
2K By Buchi Obichie
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, who was arraigned alongside his Principal, Bukola Saraki, at an Abuja Federal High Court on Monday on allegations of forgery of the Senate Rules Book, has taken his case before the International Community, barely 24 hours after the arraignment.
Ekweremadu wrote a letter calling for the intervention of the United Nations, US Congress, United Kingdom, European Union Parliament and foreign missions; saying the National Assembly was being ridiculed and rubbished by the Buhari Government.
But in a swift reaction, the Presidency said it would not bandy words with the Deputy Senate President.
Also, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice said it would not comment on the matter since it was in court.
Ekweremadu, who noted that the nation's democracy was in grave danger, said their trial for forgery of Senate Standard Rules was an attempt to truncate Nigeria's democracy and silence him as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition party in the country.
In the two-page letter, entitled: "Re: Trumped Up Charges Against the Presiding Officers of the 8th Senate: Nigerian Democracy is in Grave Danger," Ekweremadu, who attached copies of the court summons, and other relevant documents relating to the matter, is asking the international community to decide whether or not the trial was worth it, justifiable or one that was purely borne out of political vendetta.
Ekweremadu noted that neither his name nor that of the President of the Senate featured either in the petition by aggrieved members of the Senate Unity Forum, SUF, or during the investigation of the petition by the police.
The Senate President also brought up the issue of the alleged assassination attempt on his life in 2015; noting that nothing was done about the matter, even after it was reported to the relevant authorities.
The letter read: "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 marginalization of the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria, does not constitute a grave danger to the nation's hard-won democracy.
"I wish to forward to you the court summons containing the trumped-up charges preferred against my person, the President of the Senate, 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 our names 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 appears 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 me or 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 could 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.''
Ekweremadu wrote a letter calling for the intervention of the United Nations, US Congress, United Kingdom, European Union Parliament and foreign missions; saying the National Assembly was being ridiculed and rubbished by the Buhari Government.
But in a swift reaction, the Presidency said it would not bandy words with the Deputy Senate President.
Also, the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice said it would not comment on the matter since it was in court.
Ekweremadu, who noted that the nation's democracy was in grave danger, said their trial for forgery of Senate Standard Rules was an attempt to truncate Nigeria's democracy and silence him as the leader and highest ranking member of the opposition party in the country.
In the two-page letter, entitled: "Re: Trumped Up Charges Against the Presiding Officers of the 8th Senate: Nigerian Democracy is in Grave Danger," Ekweremadu, who attached copies of the court summons, and other relevant documents relating to the matter, is asking the international community to decide whether or not the trial was worth it, justifiable or one that was purely borne out of political vendetta.
Ekweremadu noted that neither his name nor that of the President of the Senate featured either in the petition by aggrieved members of the Senate Unity Forum, SUF, or during the investigation of the petition by the police.
The Senate President also brought up the issue of the alleged assassination attempt on his life in 2015; noting that nothing was done about the matter, even after it was reported to the relevant authorities.
The letter read: "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 marginalization of the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of Nigeria, does not constitute a grave danger to the nation's hard-won democracy.
"I wish to forward to you the court summons containing the trumped-up charges preferred against my person, the President of the Senate, 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 our names 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 appears 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 me or 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 could 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.''
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