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The Federal Government has withdrawn the forgery charges it leveled against Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.
It was gathered that an affidavit in support of the motion was filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory on Thursday by a litigation officer from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Odubu Loveme, Premium Times reports.
In an application filed by the Ministry of Justice to amend the charges, only the former clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, and a former deputy clerk, Mr. Ben Efeturi, were listed as the accused persons.
Recall Saraki and Ekweremadu, as well as a former Clerk of the National Assembly, Salisu Maikasuwa, and a former Deputy clerk, Ben Efeturi, were first arraigned before Justice Yusuf Halilu on June 10, 2016 via charge No. CR/219/16.
Recall also that the accused persons had on July 27 pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against them by the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, in a motion filed on Thursday, Loveme said the prosecutor, Aliyu Umar (SAN), had on September 30, in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution told him that he had studied the case diary and “had decided to amend the charges in the manner stated on the face of the motion paper”.
Mr. Loveme said, “That I depose to this affidavit in good faith believing same to be correct to the best of my knowledge and information and in accordance with the Oaths Act Cap 01 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.”
Count one of the new charge reads, “Salisu Maikasuwa and Benedict Efeturi, on or about the 9th day of June 2015 at the National Assembly Complex, Three Arms Zone, Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, agreed to do an illegal act, to wit to make the Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended), without the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which act was committed by yourselves and that you thereby committed the offence of criminal conspiracy.”
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