‘Senate Cannot Summon Me’- AGF

The ongoing war of attrition between the Buhari presidency and the Nigerian senate got messier on Thursday, June 30, 2016 with the attorney general of the federation, AGF, and minister of justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN, declaring that the Senate lacks the power to summon him for questioning.

According to The Nation, the AGF, who was invited by the senate to appear before its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, said that he is not answerable to the lawmakers. He said that the Nigerian senate did not appoint him and therefore lacks the jurisdiction to summon him.

The Senate fired back that it may be forced to issue a warrant of arrest against the AGF for his refusal to honour its invitation. The special assistant to the president on prosecution attached to the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, who represented the AGF, was walked out the meeting room.

The altercation took place at Nigerian Senate Meeting Room 3 31.3, 3rd Floor, New Senate Building, National Assembly Complex.

The senate had on Tuesday invited Malami to appear before it to explain why it became necessary for him to drag Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, to court over alleged forgery of Senate Standing Rules.

Saraki, Ekweremadu and two others were arraigned at a Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday to answer the charges.