Barely
24 hours after arraignment, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu has written
to the United Nations (UN), European Union (EU) and governments of the United
States and United Kingdom, alleging attempts by the government of President
Muhammadu Buhari to truncate Nigeria’s democracy.
Also
copied in the letter were the United States Congress and European Union (EU)
Parliament.
This
is just as the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of
Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami is expected to appear before the Senate Committee
on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters tomorrow, where he is likely to
face questions on his decision to prosecute Senate President Bukola Saraki,
Ekweremadu and four others for allegedly forging the Senate rules.
He
is also likely to be grilled on the conflict of interest arising from his
involvement in the same case a year ago, when he represented Saraki’s opponents
in the Senate in his private capacity as a lawyer.
In
the two-paged letter, titled “Re: 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
also attached to his letter, copies of the court summons and other relevant
documents relating to the charge.
He
urged the international community to go through the documents and determine if
the trial was justifiable or one purely borne out of political vendetta.
He
insisted that neither his name nor that of Saraki featured in the petition by
members of the Senate Unity Forum (SUF) or during the investigation of the
petition by the Nigeria Police.
He
alleged that 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.
Source: Vanguard
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