Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami Must Rise Above Sentiment
It is pertinent to note that Order 3 (3)(e) (ii) of the 8th Senate, which provided for secret balloting instead of open show of hand as provided in the Standing Order 2011, was not used in Saraki’s election. He was a sole candidate and emerged unopposed u
Whoever is occupying the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice is expected to be just and fair to all. As the chief law officer of the country, he must at all times ensure respect for and protect the laws of our land. I am not sorry to say that the current AGF and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami has not lived up to these expectations. His role in the ongoing war against corruption and the alleged forgery case brought against the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki and his Deputy, Ike Ekweremadu has been inglorious. This note to Malami was triggered by last week’s declaration by Justice Gabriel Kolawole of the Federal High Court in Abuja that the AGF “has now found himself as promoter of abuse of legal process.”
Yes, Malami is a political appointee, but I expect him to display a high level of professionalism in defence of the laws of our land. So far, he has not been doing this. The forgery case filed against Saraki and Ekweremadu clearly exposed our AGF. Malami’s actions and inactions are fast confirming insinuations that he has a mandate to “deal” with Saraki and Ekweremadu. While ruling that the forgery charge brought by the AGF was a gross abuse of legal process, Justice Kolawole noted: “The actions of the IGP and AGF whose offices were creations of the law, are in bad taste because this court had asked parties not to do anything on the police report during the pendency of the civil suit so as not to render the civil action nugatory and cause fate accompli.” He added that AGF ought to use his power under the law to terminate any charge filed in breach of court process.
It is indeed very depressing that Malami filed the charges, while a civil action instituted to challenge the propriety of the police report on the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Rule 2015 in which the AGF and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) are defendants, is still pending.
The motive is vindictive. It was evidently done in a desperate haste that was not in the public interest. It is instructive to note that Senator Nnaji, who instituted the suit chal- lenging the propriety of the police report on the alleged forgery, had filed a motion exparte in which he asked for a court order to stop the IGP and AGF from taking any step on the police report pending the determination of his originating summon and which the court granted. Malami is aware of this, yet, he went ahead with the charade.
We should also note that the AGF was the leading counsel for Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi who signed the petition on the alleged forgery of the standing rules. He engaged Malami, then a private lawyer, to file a motion for him (Hunkuyi) to be joined as one of the defendants in the alleged forgery suit.
Malami later opted out as a lawyer to the petitioner following his appointment as AGF. However, there is nothing to show that Malami has, in the real sense of it, opted out as one of the counsel for the petitioners. Our dear Malami is still acting as if he is still the counsel to the petitioners.
These aside, the so-called forgery of the Senate standing rules is one big scam on its own. It is an imaginary forgery. Let’s critically examine all the issues involved. First, we need to understand how the Senate generates its rules and how it is amended. It is an established convention that when the Senate and House of Representatives are dissolved at the end of their tenure by the presiding officers, their rule books end with them. The National Assembly’s bureaucracy prepares a new temporary rule book with which a new Assembly is inaugurated. It may or may not adopt the one used by the previous Assembly. After inauguration, members can then amend the rules as they deem fit. From this explanation, it is obvious that the talk about a forgery is a sham. No legislator can influence the rules to be used before or at the first sitting. Before being sworn in, they are all still Senators-elect with no power to make or change the rules. After being sworn in, they can activate the process of amending the said rules. So, what was used for the election of Saraki and Ekweremadu was the standing rules provided by the bureaucracy of the National Assembly.
The “Senate Standing Orders 2015” used for the election of Saraki and Ekweremadu has since been in use for over a year now. Nobody has moved for its amendment. It means the Senate has adopted what was initially the creation of the bureaucracy.
It is pertinent to note that Order 3 (3)(e) (ii) of the 8th Senate, which provided for secret balloting instead of open show of hand as provided in the Standing Order 2011, was not used in Saraki’s election. He was a sole candidate and emerged unopposed under Order (3) (c) which is consistent with all previous rules. So, where is the forgery? For me, this ongoing trial is just an attempt by this administration to achieve what it could not do on the floor of the Senate. At the end of the day, justice will prevail.
For my friend Malami, he has to jettison conflict of interest, abuse of office, abuse of judicial process, abuse of the rule of law, intimidation of the Senate and violation of the principle of separation of powers. May Allah help him in this simple task.