A Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a
prayer by five senators opposed to the
emergence of Bukola Saraki as the Senate
President to stop the upper legislative chamber
from constituting it’s standing and ad hoc
committees.
The five plaintiffs in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/
CS/651/2015 – Senators Abu Ibrahim, Kabir
Marafa, Ajayi Boroffice, Olugbenga Ashafa and
Suleiman Hunkuni – made the request in an ex
parte application which was moved by their
lawyer, Mamman Osuman (SAN), on Tuesday.
They had anchored their ex parte application
on the use of alleged illegitimate Senate
Standing Orders 2015 to conduct the election
of the current leadership of the Senate on June
9.
In their ex parte application, supported by an
affidavit of urgency, the plaintiffs had urged
the court to stop the constitution of the
Senate committees pending the hearing and
determination of their separate application for
interim injunction.
But Justice Gabriel Kolawole, in his ruling,
dismissed the ex parte application, holding that
the urgency attached to it was self-induced.
This, the judge held, was because the plaintiffs
had been aware of the alleged use of the
illegitimate standing orders since June 8 or 9,
2015, but only chose to file the ex parte
application on July 27, which was barely 24
hours to resumption of the Senate from its
about one month recess.
The judge also held that the court would hardly
intervene in a matter of application of the
internal rules of the Senate or the legislature
when such action did not amount to
“substantial infraction” of the provisions of the
Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The senators are seeking, among other prayers,
the declaration of the Senate Standing Orders
2015 as null and void for being a product of
an alleged illegitimate amendment of the 2011
version standing orders.
They also want the court to nullify the
amended order as well as the election of Saraki
as the Senate President and that of Ike
Ekweremadu as the Deputy Senate
President, for being products of the alleged
illegal orders.
Joined as six defendants to the suit are Saraki,
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; the
Clerks of the National Assembly, the Senate
and the National Assembly.
The five plaintiffs are members of the the pro-
Ahmed Lawan group in the Senate who are
backed by the All Progressives Congress-backed
Unity Forum that supported Lawan for the
position of the Senate President but lost to
Saraki on June 9, 2015 during the first session
of the 8th Senate.
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Five members of the the pro-Ahmed Lawan
group in the Senate have asked a Federal High
Court in Abuja to stop any move to constitute
any standing or ad hoc committees of the
Senate on the strength of the allegedly forged
rules of the upper legislative chamber.
Justice Gabriel Kolawole has reserved ruling on
the ex parte application till 2pm today
(Tuesday).
The plaintiffs in the suit, FHC/ABJ/
CS/651/2015, are Senators Abu Ibrahim, Kabir
Marafa, Ajayi Boroffice, Olugbenga Ashafa and
Suleiman Hunkuni.
They are all members of the All Progressives
Congress-backed Unity Forum which supported
Lawan for the position of the Senate President
but lost to Bukola Saraki on June 9, 2015
during the first session of the 8th Senate.
Joined as six defendants to the suit are Saraki,
Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; the
Clerks of the National Assembly, Senate and
the National Assembly.
The five senators, through their ex parte
application moved by their lead counsel, Chief
Mamman (SAN), on Tuesday urged Justice
Kolawole to restrain the defendants in the suit
from constituting the various committees
pending the hearing and determination of a
separate motion on notice for an interim
injunction.
The singular prayer in the ex parte application
reads, “An interim order of injunction
restraining the 1st, 2nd and 5th defendants/
respondents (Saraki, Ekweremadu and the
Senate) from constituting the Chairman and
Deputy Chairmen of committees, or sub-
committee whether Standing and ad hoc
committees on the basis of the provisions of
the Senate Standing Orders 2015 (as amended)
or any other order and any other set of rules
pending the hearing and determination of the
motion on notice.”
http://www.punchng.com/news/marafa-ashafa-seek-to-stop-constitution-of-senate-committees/

ok

Game over for Tinubu's camp,I should think.

this is really a case of independence of d judiciary