Court strikes out suit seeking to stop alleged planned removal of Saraki, Ekweremadu

An Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Monday struck out
a suit seeking to stop the Senate from removing Senate President
Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu, from office.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/936/2018 was filed by a Civil Society
Organisation, the Incorporated Trustees of the Civil Society
Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance.

Delivering judgement on Monday, the judge, John Tsoho, held that
“the newspaper reports showing threats of removing the Senate
President and his deputy, which the plaintiff tendered as evidence
in support of its case, are not admissible in law.”

Mr Tsoho, citing Supreme Court judgments, said, “There is no
evidential value in the newspaper publications tendered by the
plaintiff”.

The judge held that the plaintiff failed to show any credible
evidence to persuade the court in any way to grant the declarative
reliefs it sought from the court.

“I hold that the plaintiff has failed to adduce credible and
cogent evidence in support of its originating summons.

“Accordingly, all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff cannot be
granted due to lack of credible evidence. The suit, as filed by the
plaintiff is hereby struck out,” Mr Tsoho ruled.

In the suit filed last year, the plaintiff had urged the court
to declare that Mr Saraki and Mr Ekweremadu cannot be removed from
office as President of the Senate and Deputy President of the
Senate unless pursuant to a resolution supported by the votes of
not less than 73 members of the Senate.

The suit has all the 109 senators as defendants.

In the originating summons dated August 24, 2018, and filed by
Nnamdi Nwokocha-Ahaaiwe, the group argued that by the clear and
extant provisions of section 50(2) (c) of the 1999 constitution,
the two men cannot be removed from their offices unless by a
resolution of the Senate supported by the votes of not less than
two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate.

The plaintiff posed the following questions for the court’s
determination:

“Whether by the clear and extant provisions of section 50(2) (c)
of the 1999 constitution, a President of the Senate and a Deputy
President of the Senate such as Saraki and Ekweremadu can be
removed from their said offices as President of the Senate and
Deputy President of the Senate respectively unless by a resolution
of the Senate supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds
majority of the members of the Senate.

“Whether by the combined provisions of sections 3(1) and (4) and
(48) of the 1999 Constitution, the Senate of the Federal Republic
of Nigeria is not comprised of 109 members.

*Whether two-thirds majority of the 109 members of the Senate is
not comprised of 73 members.

“Whether the 1st and 2nd defendants can be removed from office
as President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate
respectively unless pursuant to a resolution supported by the votes
of not less than 73 members of the Senate.”

In an 11-paragraph supporting affidavit to the originating
summons deposed to by ThankGod Ubani, the plaintiff stated that
some All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the Senate connived
with the Executive arm of government and security agencies to
harass Mr Saraki and Mr Ekweremadu with the motive to illegally
removed them from office.

Mr Ubani averred that “on the first day, they planned to
illegally and unlawfully remove the first and second defendants
from office by trying to prevent them from coming to the National
Assembly so they could be removed in their absence.

“The 1st defendant’s motorcade was blocked with the intention to
detain him and prevent him from getting but fortunately he was not
in the vehicle and managed to find his way to Senate and presided
over the proceedings, thus, thwarting the illegal attempts while
the 2nd defendant’s (Ekweremadu) residence was besieged by security
agents who prevented him from going to work at the Senate.”

Subscribe ToNairalaw News!