Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN and Constitutional Lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome has argued that the Senate action in suspending Senator Ali Ndume for 6 months over the unfounded allegations against Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Dino Melaye, were justified because Ndume subjected the entire senate to public ridicule.
Recall that the ethics and privileges committee of the senate had investigated allegations brought by Ali Ndume against Saraki and Melaye concerning purchase of a bullet proof SUV and refusal to pay customs duties and alleged non-graduation from Ahmadu Bello University as claimed, and found both allegations to be baseless
The senate thereafter suspended Senator Ndume representing Borno South for 6 months with some lawyers saying the senate has no such powers to suspend the senator.
However, Chief Ozekhome in an interview said that depending on the issues involved, the senate or the House of Representatives have the powers to suspend a member who brings the national assembly to public ridicule.
Citing several instances, Ozekhome said, “In the case of Nzeribe versus Senate President, I handled that case. Nzeribe had libeled Ayim Pius Ayim who was then the Senate President and he called the entire national assembly ‘legislathieves’.
“That they were ‘thieves’ and the senate suspended him for one year because they have the powers, and the mechanism, to discipline erring members under their rules.
“You cannot complain when you have subjected yourself to a system that the system is too draconic on you. Once you have been given adequate fair hearing, then you can be disciplined.
“The constitution does not say anything about how to discipline members. It is the rules of the national assembly that says you should do this and that.
“To bring the national assembly to public ridicule, this is what will happen to you and if you keep advancing that, then you get the hammer.
“So the national assembly, the senate, has the power to scold members whom they think are bringing odium into the system by suspending them”.
Chief Ozekhome was reminded that another senior advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana said the senate has no powers of suspension.
Falana cited the suspension of Dino Melaye when he was a member of the house of reps and 10 others who were suspended by their fellow lawmakers, and that a high court ruled that they could not be suspended for more than two weeks.
He also cited the case of a member of the house of assembly in Bauchi state, whom Falana said he defended in court and he said the court ruled that she cannot be suspended and no legislative house has the power to suspend a member because of the factor of representation.
But Ozekhome said, “That is not correct. A case is authority for the court to decide. The facts have to be intact. The fact’s initials must be what the court will look at.
Read Also:
“Each case is different from another case. There is no court of law that would say the Senate, or the house of representatives has no power to discipline its members.
“Those are not what those cases decided or that you are denying the people of their representation. So if for example, a senator runs amok and carries a dagger within the presence of the national assembly to stab other members and the senate says, this guy has become a danger, after handing him over to the police, they suspend him.
“You are saying that the national assembly or the senate cannot suspend such a member who has become a danger to them?
“That is why I said those facts were based on the peculiar facts given to the court. I have also given you peculiar facts such as the El Rufai issue, the Tony Momoh’s issue to show the other side of the coin because a one sided coin is a bad coin.
“What I mean is that such a member, aside from being handed to the law enforcement agents; members of the senate can also decide to suspend such a member for being a danger to them, they can even tell him to go home for one year.
“And no court of law is going to say ‘for suspending your member, that you have breached the right of that member or that you have breached the right of their constituency. That is why I said a case is authority for what it decides”.
Expatiating on cases that went contrary and were won by members against the national assembly, Chief Ozehkhome said, “Those cases that have been cited they are out of sync. The Tony Momoh’s case that has been cited for example, the senate invited him under Shagari’s government to come and disclose his sources of information when the Daily Times, over which he was editor, wrote certain articles.
“And the Senate invited him that he must disclose the source of his information and the court said no. if he is forced to disclose his source of information, such sources will dry up because as a journalist, he’s to fish around for information and you do not tell him to disclose the source of information because that would be going against his fundamental rights.
“The case of El Rufai, I handled it. El Rufai was banned by the House of Representatives from holding office for 10 years and the court said no there’s nowhere in the constitution where they said you can ban a person for holding office for ten years.
“And I won that case for El Rufai when he was Chairman of the BPE and then later the minister of the FCT.
Regarding the Customs/Senate impasse, Chief Ozekhome said, “Let me also says that; one has to be careful about the kind of advice they give to this government. I heard some of them saying the senate does not have power to tell Hameed Ali or Comptroller General of Customs who has six deputy comptroller generals as his generals and many assistant comptroller generals to appear before him in uniform.
“They are wrong again; you have to look at section 5, 6, 7, 8 of the Custom and Excise Management Acts ‘CEMA’ and look at rule 31.
END
