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Senate appeals Ndume’s reinstatement

The Senate will today file an appeal against the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered on Friday which set aside the suspension of Senator…

The Senate will today file an appeal against the judgement of the Federal High Court delivered on Friday which set aside the suspension of Senator Ali Ndume.

Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court, Abuja, held that the suspension of Ndume (APC, Borno South) for 90 legislative days (six months) on March 30, 2017 “is a violation of his right to fair hearing and freedom of expression as guaranteed by Sections 36 and 39 of the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) and Article 7(1) and 9(2) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights 2004.”

However, the senate said it would go further with the case.

Counsel to the Senate, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), said, “It is important to state clearly that the Senate respectfully disagrees with the said judgment.”

Ozekhome, in a statement, said the notice of appeal as an application for a stay of execution of the orders of the court would also be filed same time.

He explained that the Senate had challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain the matter on several grounds, saying the plaintiff wrongly joined several causes of action in his originating summons.

“That an action for the enforcement of fundamental rights to fair hearing can only be brought against a court or a tribunal, established by law as held by the Supreme Court in several current cases, and not against committee of a legislative body.

“That by the provisions of Sections 3 and 30 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, the trial court lacked requisite jurisdiction to hear the suit of the plaintiff,” the statement said.

Ndume had at the weekend stated that he had been vindicated with the court’s declaration of his suspension by the Senate as illegal and unconstitutional. The Borno South senator said that he never committed any offence that should have warranted his suspension by the 8th assembly.

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