Bukola Saraki |
The Federal High Court in Abuja has been asked to among other things,
restrain the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), the Inspector
General of Police (IGP) and the Department of State Services (DSS) from
supporting any effort to sack the Senate President Bukola Saraki through
means other than that provided for under Section 50(2)(c ) of the
Constitution.
The request form part of the reliefs in a suit filed on Monday by
Senators Rafiu Adebayo (PDP, Kwara South) and Isa Misau (PDP, Bauchi
Central) through a team of lawyers, including former Attorney General of
the Federation (AGF) Kanu Agabi (SAN) and Mahmud Magaji (SAN).
The plaintiffs stated that, going by recent occurrences and
utterances by some leaders of a faction of All Progressives Congress
(APC), from which they had defected, they were convinced of plots to
force Saraki off the Senate President’s seat by means other than that
provided in Section 50(2)(c ) of the Constitution.
Section 50(2) provides: “The President or Deputy President of the
Senate or the Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives
shall vacate his office…. (c) if he is removed from office by a
resolution of the Senate or of the House of Representatives, as the case
may be, by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the
members of that House.”
Listed as defendants in the suit are: The Senate, the Senate
President, Deputy Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawal (Senate Leader),
Senator Bala Ibn Nallah (Deputy Senate Leader), Senator Emma Buacha
(Deputy Minority Leader), Clerk of the Senate, Deputy Clerk of the
Senate, Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police
and Department of State Services (DSS).
Misau stated, in a supporting affidavit, that there was evidence of
threat of constitutional breach which require the court to intervene by
restraining the defendants from resorting to unconstitutional means to
actualise their alleged threat and plot to unseat the Senate President
following his defection to the PDP.
The plaintiffs are praying the court for, among others, an order
restraining the 9th, 10th and 11th defendants, either by themselves,
agents, servants, privies by whatsoever name so called from enforcing
any act of the 1st, 3rd to 8th defendants purporting to have removed the
2nd defendant from office without such act being in compliance with the
provisions of Sections 50(2) of the Constitution of the Fedora!
Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
They are also seeking a declaration that the President of the Senate
cannot be said to have vacated his office by virtue of Section 50(2)(c)
of the Constitution when he has not been removed from office by the
votes of not less than two-third majority of the members of the Senate.
No date has been set for the hearing of the suit.
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