There are strong
indications that the police have submitted to the National Prosecution
Coordination Committee, another report on the investigations into the alleged
forgery of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015.
Sunday Punch gathered that in the
fresh report, the police indicted the President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola
Saraki, and his deputy, Dr. Ike Ekweremadu.
It was gathered that the Special Investigation
Panel, headed by the retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Ali Amodu,
explained that a former Clerk to the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, could
not have committed the alleged offence without the connivance of the two
principal officers.
The SIP was set up by
the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to investigate high-profile
cases.
The Federal Government had, on October 6, 2016,
withdrawn the charges of criminal conspiracy relating to the alleged forgery of
the Senate Standing Orders, 2015, filed against the Senate President and his
deputy at an Abuja High Court.
The government, it was reported, had found out
that the investigation was inconclusive and the evidence was not strong enough
to sustain a diligent prosecution of the accused persons.
Following this discovery, the Ministry of
Justice filed an application to amend the charges.
In the new charges,
only Maikasuwa and a former deputy clerk, Mr. Ben Efeturi, were listed as the
accused persons.
Saraki and Ekweremadu were earlier charged
alongside Maikasuwa and Efeturi for allegedly forging the Senate Standing
Orders, which were used for the inauguration of the Eight Senate.
All of them pleaded not guilty to the charges
before Justice Yusuf Halilu and were granted bail on June 10, 2016.
Following the amendment of the charges, the
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami
(SAN), directed the police to conduct fresh investigations into the case.
Saraki, Ekweremadu may face conspiracy charge
again.
-Punch
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