A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), West Idahosa, has faulted the decision of the Senate to suspend Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, despite a court order restraining the red chambers from sanctioning the lawmaker.
Idahosa, who represented Ovia South-West/Ovia North-East Federal Constituency from 1999 to 2007, has also lamented the level of disobedience to court orders under Senate President Godswill Akpabio, saying it is very damaging.
Idahosa spoke during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, a few hours after the Senate suspended Natasha for six months for violation of its rules.
“The most damaging is the blazing disobedience to court order. It is very untenable for a law-making body,” he said.
The lawyer, citing Section 4, Sub-Section 8 of the 1999 Constitution, said the Senate had no right to have suspended the female lawmaker.
“In the conduct of its legislative powers and duties, their conduct shall be subject to the judiciary,” he said.
He went ahead to interprete the Legislative Powers and Privileges Acts, adding that most courts are of the view that the Senate and the House of Representatives cannot suspend a lawmaker for more than 14 days.
According to Idahosa, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker was not given a fair hearing and her suspension was pre-determined by the senators.
“A few days ago, a court order was served on the Senate of Nigeria and the committee in charge of ethics. They got the substituted order to serve on the Senate through the Clerk. This was done,” he said.
“In spite, you then sit down and rush a committee report and then the person is accused and likely to suffer from the suspension order was not even present.
“There was no fairing in line with the provisions of the Constitution, Section 36; you disobeyed flagrantly a court order. and then you turn around to say the judiciary should improve when we are ones by this behaviour undermining judicial institutions in this country.
“If I were the judge and the appropriate applications were made before me, I would go very far to make that point strong.”
The Guardian
