Senate Vows To Appeal Ndume Court Victory

Senate

The Senate says it will appeal against a federal high court ruling which declared its suspension of Senator Ali Ndume illegal. Justice Babatunde Quadri of the Federal High Court on Friday set aside the suspension.

The court also ordered that the senator be paid all his outstanding salaries and allowances.

The Senate had on March 30 suspended Ndume, who was former Majority Leader, for 90 legislative days (six months).

He was suspended for raising a matter that the Senate investigates public allegations of impropriety against the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and another senator, Dino Melaye.

The Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which investigated the matter, recommended that Ndume be suspended for one year for “bringing Melaye, his colleague, and the institution of the senate to unbearable disrepute.”

The Senate says it will file an appeal on 13 of November (today) against the judgment.

It said in a statement that ”For the records, the Senate had challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to entertain the matter on several grounds, portions of which are outlined hereunder for the purpose of emphasis, as follows:

"That 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 Senate’s argument is supported by various and current decisions of the apex court.”