The
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, has asked the
Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, to commit the Inspector General of
Police, IGP, Suleiman Abba, to jail for disobeying an order made by the
court.
The IGP had last week ordered police officers to
take over the National Assembly complex to “prevent thugs from taking
over the complex”.
In a suit filed by Mr. Tambuwal over his
position as the speaker after he defected to the opposition All
Progressives Congress, APC, Justice Ahmed Muhammed who is trying the
case, ordered that all parties should maintain the status quo, implying
that Mr. Tambuwal stays put on his seat as speaker till the court takes a
decision on the matter.
Relying on two
grounds, Mr. Tambuwal, Friday, represented by Lateef Fagbemi a Senior
Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, said the IG should be charged for contempt
after he directed his men to stop the plaintiff from gaining access to
the premises of the National Assembly despite an earlier order by the
court that all parties must maintain the status quo pending the
determination of the substantive suit seeking interpretation of his
status as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Mr.
Tambuwal equally informed the court that by the IGP’s refusal to
recognize him as Speaker of the House when he appeared before a
committee of the House of Representatives, last Monday, the IG
constituted himself “to be the complainant, the judge and the
executioner in a matter where a restraining order has already been
issued by the judge”.
Justice Muhammed, ruling on the exparte
application, ordered Mr. Tambuwal’s counsel to serve the motion on
notice on the IG’s lawyers for response.
Justice Muhammed then
adjourned the matter to December 1 for a ruling on whether some
interested parties, notably the Executive Chairman of Tambuwal Local
Government Authority and a member representing Tambuwal West
constituency in the Sokoto State House of Assembly, can be joined in the
suit.
Credit: PremiumTimes
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