The Senate has hit back at the Secretary to the Federal Government, David Babachir Lawal for stating that it is only the Senate President Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu and two others, that are on trial for forgery at an Abuja High court.

The SGF had cautioned the Senate leadership not to drag the entire National Assembly into their ongoing trial.

The Senate has responded by stating that the trial of Saraki and Ekweremadu for alleged forgery of the standing orders of the house is a mere plot by the executive to create a distraction for the leadership of the senate and force a change of leadership.

The senate, in a statement signed by the Chairman of Senate Committee on Media and Publicity, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi said, “We note the statement issued by the Secretary to the Federal Government, Mr. David Babachir Lawal that the Senate is not the one on trial in the Forgery case instituted by the Attorney General of the Federation against the Senate President and his Deputy.”

“We disagree with him on this position and we maintain our earlier stand that it is the Senate that is the target of the present attempt to intimidate the legislature to force a leadership change in the Senate.”

The Senate further asked Babachir to explain “how reasonable it is to conclude that when the President of Nigeria and the Vice President are being jointly tried in a suit whose outcome can remove them from office, it is not the Buhari Government that is being targeted.”

“It is also imperative to clearly state that contrary to the claim by the SGF, neither the Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki nor Senator Ike Ekweremadu were mentioned by the petitioners, the statements by those interviewed by the police or even the police report.”

Responding to the 1999 case which Babachir brought up in the defence of the executive arm, the senate said, “It is obvious that the Senate President and his deputy are not being accused of certificate forgery as it happened in ex-Speaker Salisu Buhari’s case.”

“Therefore, nobody should compare an apple with orange. Also, neither Saraki nor Ekweremadu is below the age requirement for their present position as it was alleged in the Buhari case. Attempts to make the two situations look similar is to present all Nigerians as having no sense of history.”

The senate maintained that the executive had no reason to dabble into the matter of the senate as the determination of the standing order of the senate was solely the lawmakers’ prerogative.

“We also know that nobody can be accused of forging his own signature. The executive is in no position to determine what is the correct Standing Orders of the Senate. The Senate President and his Deputy were as at the morning of the June 9, 2015 inauguration of the Senate mere Senators-elect and could therefore not have been in a position to influence any alteration in the rule book.”

“The Senate as an institution, and indeed the National Assembly, has spoken about their understanding of the present assault on their independence by the executive. We maintain that this trial is a design by the Executive to criminalize the internal affairs of the Senate to create a distraction for the leadership of the Senate, force a leadership change and cow the legislators.”

“Those behind this plot find this trial more expedient and important than finding tangible solutions to the multi-various socio-economic problems bedeviling the country. However, we are sure they will fail in this attempt. We only hope they will allow the judiciary to truly and creditably perform its duties and give independent verdict on the case.”