Senate fires Back: If Our Leaders Are on Trial, We Are on Trial

The Senate has reacted to the Presidency's position, insisting that the current trial of Bukola Saraki and Ike Ekweremadu was aimed at forcing a leadership change in the upper chamber.

Committee on Media and Publicity, led by Senator Aliyu Abdullahi, in response to SGF, said the Senate was being targeted to intimidate the legislature and force a leadership change.

In a statement last night, Abdullahi, who is a Saraki loyalist, said:
“We note the statement issued by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr. David Babachir Lawal, that the Senate is not the one on trial in the forgery case instituted by the Attorney General of the Federation against the Senate President and his Deputy.

“We disagree with him on this position and we maintain our earlier stand that it is the Senate that is the target of the present attempt to intimidate the legislature to force a leadership change in the Senate.

"Mr. Babachir Lawal should tell us how reasonable it is to conclude that when the President of Nigeria and the Vice President are being jointly tried in a suit whose outcome can remove them from office, it is not the Buhari Government that is being targeted.

“It is also imperative to clearly state that contrary to the claim by the SGF, neither the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki nor Senator Ike Ekweremadu was mentioned by the petitioners, the statements by those interviewed by the police or even the police report.

“Meanwhile, let us refresh Mr. Lawal’s memory about the facts of the 1999 case.

“It is obvious that the Senate President and his deputy are not being accused of certificate forgery as it happened in ex-Speaker Salisu Buhari’s case.

“Therefore, nobody should compare an apple with an orange. Also, neither Saraki nor Ekweremadu is below the age requirement for their present positions as it was alleged in the Buhari case.

“Attempts to make the two situations look similar is to present all Nigerians as having no sense of history. We also know that nobody can be accused of forging his own signature. The executive is in no position to determine what is the correct Standing Orders of the Senate."

But the Attorney General has insisted that forgery anywhere in the country will be dealt with, either in the senate, judiciary or executive.