The official court summons inviting the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, the outgoing Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa; and the Deputy Clerk, Benedict Efeturi, to appear before the court for the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order 2015. was yesterday pasted on the Senate board by some people, suspected to be bailiffs from the FCT High Court, Abuja.
The Summon read;
“By oral application, dated June 21, 2016, moved by D. E. Kaswe, Principal State Counsel, Federal Ministry of Justice, in this case praying the court for:
“An order of this Honourable Court granting leave to the complainant/applicant to serve the criminal summons on the defendants by substituted means to wit by pasting it at the Notice Board of the National Assembly, Three Arms Zone, Abuja.
“And after hearing D. E. Kaswe with A. A. Kaltingo Esq, counsel for the complainant/applicant moved the court orally for the above relief.”
It was also observed that the handwritten statements of Maikasuwa and Efeturi as well as that of 13 other former senators, interrogated by the police, were also pasted along with the court summons, Punch Newspaper reports
In their own submissions to the police as contained in the document pasted to the board at the National Assembly, Maikasuwa and Efeturi denied being part of the alleged forgery of the document.
Maikashuwa said, “The Senate Standing Order used in Seventh Senate was not known to me. The Clerk of the Senate (Efeturi) is in position to know. I was not aware of the amendment that was made to the Standing rules.”
Efeturi said, “The Senate Leadership handled the 2015 Standing Rules as amended by their convention and practice. Standing Orders 2003, 2007 and 2011 followed similar practice.”
Our correspondent further noted that a Deputy Inspector-General of Police interrogated and obtained statements from 15 witnesses, including Senators Suleiman Hunkunyi, Solomon Enang, Solomon Ewuga, Ahmad Lawan, Abu Ibrahim and Babafemi Ojudu, on the issue.
Some Sergeant-at-Arms, however, besieged the notice board and removed all the court summons even when many people were still reading the documents.
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