Tambuwal's suit against PDP, IGP Abba stalled

Tambuwal's suit against PDP, IGP Abba stalled

Thursday, December 4, 2014 6:07 am


Nnamdi Felix / Abuja

Proceedings into the suit brought before a federal court in Abuja by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziru Tambuwal seeking to stop the PDP from declaring his seat vacant on account of his defection from the party to the opposition APC, was stalled Wednesday.

This followed the stay of proceedings application filed before the court by representatives of Kebbe / Tambuwal Federal constituency in Sokoto state.

•Tambuwal: court case stalled

•Tambuwal: court case stalled

Justice Ahmed Mohammed had on Monday turned down the application by the constituency representatives to join in the matter. Not satisfied, the constituency representatives filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal.

On Wednesday, they came to inform the court that they had filed two separate applications for stay of proceedings in the suit having filed notices of appeal against the ruling of the court which disallowed them to be joined as defendants in the suit.

The chairman of the Kebbe Local Government Area, Bala Kokane, and that of Tambuwal Local Government Area; Sambo Modo, on behalf of the people of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency, had applied to be joined in the Speaker’s suit as interested parties, whose interests would be affected one way or the other by the determination of the suit by the court but were rejected by the court.

Similarly, another application seeking to be joined in the matter, filed by three members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly; Abdussamad Dasuki, Suleiman Hantsi, and Shuaibu Umar – representing Tambuwal East, Tambuwal West and Kebbe constituencies respectively, was also declined by the court.

The constituents are opposed to moves to remove Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as Speaker and declaration of his seat vacant, and had argued that removing him would deprive them of representation in the House of Representatives.

It is however noted that the embattled Speaker, through his lawyers led by Prince Lateef Fagbemi, a senior advocate of Nigeria, had opposed the constituents’ request to join the suit on the grounds that Tambuwal did not make any claims against them and as such they could not be accommodated as defendants in the suit.

While dismissing these joinder applications last Monday, the court had upheld Fagbemi’s submissions when it noted that the stance of those seeking to join in the suit, ran contrary to that of the existing co-defendants on record.

Counsel for the local government chairmen, Mr. Israel Olorundare, also a senior advocate of Nigeria, and that of the Sokoto state legislators; Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, another senior advocate, informed the court that they had filed separate applications seeking leave to appeal against the court ruling based on mixed law and facts.

They also told the court that they had filed notices of appeal against the court’s ruling in addition to applications for stay of proceedings.

This development thereafter stalled further proceedings into the matter as well as the hearing of the Speaker’s application seeking an order of court to commit the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, to prison for allegedly flouting the court’s order.

The trial judge, Justice Ahmed Mohammed, thereafter adjourned the matter till 9th December to hear the applications seeking leave to appeal, those for stay of proceedings as well as the one seeking an order compelling the IGP to appear in court.

The Speaker had alleged that Abba’s instruction to officers of the police force to deny him access into the premises of the National Assembly and preventing him from carrying out his lawful duties on November 20th, amounted to flouting the court’s order.


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  • Interesting: Are, “Mediocre’s’ Appointed As Judges In Nigeria -Babalakin [Leadership News]? How about the pocket Lawyers that have no conscious and hardly interpret the Nigeria Constitution? Also. some Law Makers that lack decorum in daily life and activity, only to siphons Nigeria resources?

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