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| Sen Melaye stretchered to court |
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Yakubu Dogara, has sent a strong message to those responsible for the current travails of Senator Dino Melaye that nothing should happen to him.
Melaye is the Senator representing Kogi West at the senate.
According to the Speaker, if anyone in the country commits an offence, the person ought to be prosecuted or arraigned in court within the ambit of the law.
Below is a text of his statement on the controversy surrounding Dino Melaye's arraignment in a Lokoja court today and subsequent remanding in prison custody till June 11:
"All I can say is that nothing can happen to the senator. If anyone in this country commits an offence, the law is there for the person to be prosecuted or arraigned in court within the ambit of the law.
"I don’t think the law supports a situation whereby someone is in a dire health situation and is being arraigned, most especially that that person is a senator.
"It is unthinkable that a distinguished senator or an honorable member of this house would run away from trial.
"So, my admonition to the security agencies is to do everything possible to ensure that his life is secured first before prosecution.
"Prosecution cannot come at the expense of death and that is very important because if anything happened to him, the responsibility will lie on the security agencies.
"That is without mincing of words; because I have not seen a country where someone will be arraigned in a stretcher; where he is not even in the right frame of mind to even take a plea.
"What use is it if you’re taking someone to court and he cannot plead guilty or not guilty. So, the emphasis should be on his health first."
The Speaker’s warning followed a point of order by Rep. Sunday Karimi ( PDP, Kogi), who said Melaye was transported in an ambulance to Lokoja to face trial despite the state of his health.
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