Senate Forgery: Judge Threatens To Quash Police Report - Politics -

Justice Gabriel Kolawole of a Federal High Court in Abuja has threatened that the report of investigation of the police on the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Orders 2015, will be nullified, if found out that actions have bee‎n taken on the report since the suit challenging the investigation of the case was filed. The suit was filed on July 23 by Enugu-East Senator in the National Assembly, Gilbert Nnaji but the police have since completed their investigation and forwarded its report to the office of Attorne-General of the Federation for legal advice and further action. Justice kolawole before adjourning the matter said the police would be made to account for actions they had taken on the investigation since the suit was filed. However before adjourning the matter till September 8, he directed that the suit be transferred to Justice Adeniyi Ademola, who will take over as vacation judge next week. Justice Kolawole, while ruling on the plaintiff’s ex parte application on July 27 ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, and the Attorney-General of the Federation to appear in court on Tuesday to show cause why they should not be restrained from taking any further step on the investigation. But contrary to‎ the expectation of the plaintiff’s counsel, Mr. P.J Nwokolo, the police, through their lawyer, Mr. David Abuo, filed a notice of preliminary objection challenging the jurisdiction of the court. The office of the AGF represented by Mr. Taiwo Abidogun, also informed the court that it had filed similar preliminary objection challenging the court’s jurisdiction. Also another senator, Suleiman Hunkuyi, represented by ‎Chief Mamman Osuman (SAN), said he had filed an application seeking to join the suit. ‎Nwokolo however urged the court to grant the restraining order against the police as contained in the ex parte application since they had failed to comply with the court’s order directing them to convince the court why the ex parte prayer should not be granted. But the judge while ruling on Nwokolo’s application declined to restrain the police in the light of the applications newly filed by other parties‎ to the suit. The allegedly forged Senate Standing Order was used for the conduct of the election which brought in the current leadership of the National Assembly on June 9, 2015. Ike Ekweremadu who emerged as the Deputy Senate President from the said election which took place shortly after the proclamation of the National Assembly also hails from Enugu State, like Nnaji and represents Enugu-West in the Senate. The Deputy Senate President is among the senators and the management of the National Assembly, especially the Clerk, Salisu Maikasuwa, questioned by the police over the alleged crime.