The Police Special Investigation Panel (SIP) in charge of the case had written the clerk of the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori, to demand for the records of the proceedings where the Senate rules were amended.
But realising that the evidence put forward was not enough to secure the conviction of theduo in court, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, had directed the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to dig further and get more evidence against the two senators.
The IGP in turn, directed the SIP handling the investigation to get more evidence that could sustain the conviction of the accused persons. The SIP, led by Ali Amodu, a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, wrote a letter to the National Assembly clerk in August and demanded the record of proceedings of the last Senate.
The panel also requested the clerk to clarify if the 7th Senate at any time amended the Senate Standing Orders 2011 and the extent ofthe amendment, if any. They also requested for copies of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015, as well as the Hansard (official record of debates) of June 9 and 24, 2015 to know what transpired on the floor of the Senate.
The source quoted by The Punch said:“The SIP was expecting the clerk to send the copiesof the senate standing rules, 2011 and 2015 to know if there was an amendment and the extent of such amendment.
The police also demanded the record of the last proceeding of the 7th senate, but up till now, the clerk has notresponded.“The SIP has again sent a reminder to the clerkto fast-track its request. All these records are needed by the police to carry out a thorough probe into the case and ensure that the probe is rested once and for all.”
Apart from Saraki and Ekweremadu, others facing trial over their alleged involvement in the forgery of the Senate rules, include the former clerk of the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, and his deputy, Mr Benedict Efeturi.
The trial judge on Monday, June 27, admitted the defendants to bail and adjourned the matter for trial. The accused persons pleaded not guilty to thecharges preferred against them.In his reaction, Saraki described the renewal ofthe investigation as an abuse of judicial process when the prosecutor had already dragged the suspects to court.
His spokesman, Yusuph Olaniyonu said:“I would have preferred that our lawyers speak on the matter; they would have been able to spell out the legal implication of going to court,swearing to an affidavit that the investigation had been concluded, which is the fulcrum of taking the matter to court.
“To now say there will be a fresh investigation is like leaving the case in court, while looking for an evidence to justify your position. That will be a clear abuse of court process, just like our lawyers submitted on Wednesday. It is a clear case of abuse of court process.”
Meanwhile, there was an unusual absence of security operatives at the Federal Capital Territory High Courtthree days ago when the forgery case resumed.Before now, the case would witness an unprecedented number of security agencies and their personnel.The court however adjourned the case to Friday, October 7.
Source: Naij
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