Sen. Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan has petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Miller Dantawaye, over the alleged forgery of signatures.
Chronicle NG gathered that the petitions were submitted to the IG and the police commissioner on Friday afternoon.
Some constituents of Natasha, led by Charity Ijese, have presented over 250,000 signatures to the Independent National Electoral Commission headquarters in Abuja with a petition calling for the senator’s recall.
The recall petition came after Natasha was suspended from the Senate on March 6 due to alleged egregious misconduct.
This came shortly after Natasha accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, confirmed receipt of the constituents’ plea.
However, the electoral authority noticed that the petition lacked important information such as the petitioners’ contact addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.
The next day, INEC wrote to Akpoti-Uduaghan and the Senate Presiding Officer, Akpabio, to confirm that the petitioners’ contact information had been rectified.
Shortly after, leaked video recordings appeared on social media, showing some state politicians signing the petition.
Suspicion rose throughout the week, with many questioning how over 250,000 residents could have signed the petition against Natasha in 10 days while only 120,000 people voted in the senatorial district’s 2023 general election.
The suspended senator’s legal team, led by Victor Giwa, revealed that Akpoti-Uduaghan had petitioned the IG and the Kogi State police commissioner over the alleged forged signatures in the recall petition.
He further disclosed that a copy of the petition would also be submitted to INEC.
Giwa said, “Firstly, we are aware that those signatures were forged, and it is the act of APC members in Kogi State, who are desperate to remove her. Secondly, we are prosecuting the case in court. We have written our petition regarding the forgery, and we are submitting it to the Inspector General of Police, the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, and INEC. Before 1pm today (Friday), they would have received it.”
He clarified that Natasha’s legal team decided to take the forgery petition to the police because it involved a criminal offence.
“INEC does not have the materials to examine a case of forgery. What they are expected to do is compare whether the signatures correspond with the ones signed by the owners. But we are alleging that it is a case of forgery, and only the police can handle cases of forgery.
“Let the petitioners present the signatures, and let the police subject them to forensic tests for us to confirm that they were not forged,” Giwa added.
After receiving the petition, INEC will verify the signatures at each polling unit in the constituency.
However, Giwa requested that the forgery charge be resolved before the commission could move on to the next stage of the recall procedure, particularly since a related case was still pending in court.
“The case is in court, and INEC is aware. Secondly, we are now dealing with allegations of fraud. Some people submitted certain signatures, and others claim they were forged, which is a criminal matter.
“So, as an institution, I believe INEC would need to submit the signatures to the police to confirm whether or not there is forgery. And this should come before the verification exercise,” he added.
