VICTORY: As the federal government withdraws the forgery charges against Saraki and Ekweremadu

After spending hard earned tax payers’ money for several months to witch-hunt the Senate President and his deputy, the government have finally decided to drop the charges against them.

The government on Thursday pulled back the charges of criminal connivance identifying with the claimed falsification of the Senate Standing Orders, 2015, documented against Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, at the Abuja High Court.

In doing as such, the Ministry of Justice recorded an application to change the charges and connected the altered charges. In the new charges, just the previous clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, and a previous appointee clerk, Mr. Ben Efeturi, were recorded as the blamed people.

Saraki and Ekweremadu were charged close by Maikasuwa and Efeturi for purportedly falsifying the Senate Standing Orders. Every one of them argued not blameworthy to the charges and were allowed bail. They were initially charged before Justice Yusuf Halilu on June 10, 2016.

In any case, a case officer from the Ministry of Justice, Odudu Loveme, yesterday dismissed to an affirmation, which was appended to the new charges.

Loveme asserted that the prosecutor, Aliyu Umar (SAN), had on September 30, in the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution let him know that he had considered the case journal and " “had decided to amend the charges in the manner stated on the face of the motion paper”.

He expressed that he had thus documented the revised charges. Saying: “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.

On the substance of the new charge, just Messrs Maikasuwa and Efeturi would now confront arraignment.

According count one of the new charge peruses: “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.”

They were additionally blamed for deceitfully revising the 2015 Senate Standing Orders without the power of the seventh Senate “with the intention that the senators-elect of the 8th Senate would believe that the said Senate Standing Orders, 2015 (as amended), was made by the authority of the 7th Senate of the Federal republic of Nigeria”.

They were blamed for fashioning a record culpable under Section 366 of the Penal Code Act (Northern States) Federal Provisions Act, 1960, Cap 345, Laws of the Federation, 1990 (as altered).

Additionally, the federal government blamed them for giving false data with the goal to misdirect people in general.

The court had on September 28 dismissed the matter to today, October 7 for initiation of hearing.

Legitimizing the change, Umar said that the sole issue for assurance was “whether the court can permit the amendment of the charge in terms of the amended charge”.

Speaking further, he said the court has the forces to allow the change taking into account the arrangements of Section 216(1) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

The segment expresses that “a court may permit an alteration or an amendment to a charge or framing of a new charge at any time before judgment is pronounced”.

He additionally cited Section 216(3), which expresses that “where a defendant is arraigned for trial on an imperfect or erroneous charge, the court may permit or direct the framing of a new charge, or any amendment to, or the alteration of the original charge”.

At the point when the federal government charged Saraki and Ekweremadu for the affirmed falsification, the duo had kept up their guiltlessness, saying that it was politically roused emerging from their rise as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, individually.

This was because, their race did not sit well with the administration and the decision All Progressives Congress (APC), which had upheld Senators Ahmed Lawal and George Akume to lead the Senate.

The choice to pull back the charges against them may likewise not be detached to shortcoming of the central government's argument against them.