“My lord, following his removal from the ICU, discharged from the National Hospital, Abuja and his subsequent resumption of duty at the National Assembly precisely on May 30 and 31, we humbly apply for a date for the prosecution to open its case in line with the ruling of this honourable court cited above and hearing notices served accordingly,” read a part of the letter.
Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, has written to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Maitama, Abuja, to order the resumption of the trial of Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West at the National Assembly, which was adjourned indefinitely to enable his return to sound health.
The letter, dated June 4, 2015 and titled ‘Re: Charge No. CR/106/18: FRN V Senator Dino Melaye; Request for a date for trial’, was sent to the Chief Registrar following Melaye’s resumption of legislative duties at the Senate on May 30.
Melaye is being prosecuted by the AGF’s office on two counts of deliberately giving false information to the Police to frame up Mr Edward Onoja David, Chief of Staff to Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, in an alleged assassination attempt on his (Melaye’s) life.
On May 17, 2018, Justice Olasunbo Goodluck had adjourned the case indefinitely, pending Melaye’s discharge from the Intensive Care Unit of the National Hospital in Abuja, where he was then admitted as a result of injuries he sustained after jumping out of a moving vehicle when he was arrested by the Police.
In the letter, sent by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Federation and signed “for the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation” by Mr Shuaibu Labaran, the prosecuting counsel, the AGF noted that since Melaye has been discharged and he has already resumed at the Senate, his trial should be resuscitated.
“My lord, following his removal from the ICU, discharged from the National Hospital, Abuja and his subsequent resumption of duty at the National Assembly precisely on May 30 and 31, we humbly apply for a date for the prosecution to open its case in line with the ruling of this honourable court cited above and hearing notices served accordingly,” read a part of the letter.
Melaye’s resumption at the Senate was dramatic, as he walked in with a walking stick and a brace around his neck, helped by a few colleagues, when in the full glare of cameras, However, minutes earlier in the absence of the cameras, he had walked unaided.
His words were as controversial as his actions, as he declined to seat on the chair allotted to him as an All Progressives Congress (APC) senator, instead picking a seat among the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members.
“Mr. President, I want to seek your indulgence to call in the Sergeant-at-Arms to look for a comfortable seat for me on this side of the divide. I am no longer comfortable sitting here,” he had said.
“I want to ask that you mandate the Sergeant-at-Arms to look for a seat for me, but before you do that, I will take a seat close to General David Mark.”