The federal high court in Abuja
has nullified the senate’s suspension of Ovie Omo-Agege, a Delta central
senator.
The senate had on April 13
suspended the senator for 90 legislative days over his comment that the
proposed re-ordering of the general election was targeted at President
Muhammadu Buhari.
The court has now ruled that the
suspension is unconstitutional.
Nnamdi Dimgba, the judge, said
while the national assembly had the power to discipline its erring members, the
premise on which Omo-Agege’s suspension was anchored is illegal.
Although the court refused to
grant any of the seven prayers sought by the senator, it held that the
suspension could not hold on grounds of the ”violence” it did the constitution.
Dimgba said from the wording of
the report of the senate’s ethics and privileges committee which recommended
Omo-Agege’s suspension, he was punished for filing a suit against the senate
after apologising over the allegation levelled against him.
”Access to court is a fundamental
right in the constitution which cannot be taken away by force or intimidation
from any organ,” Dimgba ruled.
He said the senate’s decision to
punish Omo-Agege constituted an affront on the judiciary.
The judge said the senate could
only have suspended him for only a period of 14 days as prescribed in its
rules.
He ruled that the principle of
natural justice was breached by the senate’s ethics and privileges committee by
allowing Dino Melaye, who was the complainant, to be involved in the committee
that considered the issue.
The judge, therefore, nullified
Omo-Agege’s suspension ”with immediate effect”.
He also ordered that the senator
should be paid all his allowances and salaries for the period he was illegally
suspended.
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