BY SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK JUL 12, 2016
SaharaReporters
has learned that a pensive Senate President, Bukola Saraki, today held a
private meeting with the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar
Malami, and pleaded with the AGF to drop forgery charges against him and
his deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
The private meeting took
place today at the premises of the Senate when Mr. Malami, accompanied
by Ita Enang, President Muhammadu Buhari’s special assistant on the
National Assembly, arrived to see Senator David Umaru, head of the
Senate committee on the judiciary. Mr. Malami had gone to assure Senator
Umaru of his willingness to honor an invitation by the senatorial
committee.
A source at the Senate and another in the AGF’s office
told SaharaReporters that Mr. Saraki requested to see Mr. Malami after
the AGF’s meeting with Senator Umaru. Our sources said the attorney
general acceded to the meeting with Senator Saraki, choosing to see Mr.
Saraki in the presence of Ita Enang.
However, just before the meeting started, Senator Saraki and Mr. Malami agreed that it should be private.
Our
sources disclosed that the embattled senator, who is facing two trials,
one for alleged falsification in his asset declarations, the other for
alleged forgery of Senate rules, turned the short meeting into a begging
session. One source who was briefed on what transpired told our
correspondent that Mr. Saraki pleaded with the attorney general not be
part of those persecuting him, swearing that he knew nothing about the
alleged forgery of Senate rules under which he was elected as Senate
President.
One of our sources claimed that Mr. Malami spoke
sympathetically, but declined to make a commitment to stop the
prosecution of Senators Saraki and Ekweremadu.
Following the
AGF’s non-committal stance, a senator told SaharaReporters that Mr.
Malami was likely to face hostile questioning when he is answers the
summons of the Senate Judiciary committee. Mr. Malami is expected to
appear before the committee tomorrow at 11 a.m. (Nigerian time).
Our
Senate source disclosed that the members of the committee were divided
over the summons to Mr. Malami. “Some members feel that the invitation
to Malami to appear is solely intended to bully him so as to force him
to withdraw charges against Dr. Saraki and Senator Ekweremadu,” the
source said.
One committee member argued that the summons itself
violates the constitution and Senate rules which forbid senatorial
intervention in matters that are before the courts. He cited Section 174
of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, which empowers the AGF to initiate
legal proceedings against anybody according to the discretion vested in
his office. The senator also remarked that Section 150 of the
constitution shows that the office of the Attorney General of the
Federation is one of the few offices created by the constitution.
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