Former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi has petitioned the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki over the recent ministerial screening imbroglio praying the Senate to ignore the supposed indictment by the Judicial Commission set up by the Rivers state government. A copy of the petition, dated 12th October 2015 and signed by his lawyer, Edward Pepple, stated that not only are the allegations levelled against him false, but they were made in bad faith and with the intention to tarnish his good image. The petition further prayed that the principle of fair hearing should be adhered to given that an accused remains innocent before the law until proven otherwise. To this end, the "indictment" by the Commission of enquiry should not in anyway influence his qualification to serve the country. Quoting the case of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar before the Supreme Court as a precedent, it reiterated the ruling of the Apex Court that "an indictment by judicial commission of inquiry or administrative panel is not an 'indictment' or sufficient for the purpose of preventing a person from holding a public office" until the accused is found guilty by a court of law.
