Constituents ask court to halt hearing of Tambuwal’s suit

Constituents ask court to halt hearing of Tambuwal’s suit

The people of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency of Sokoto State, have asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to stay proceedings in the suit filed by their representative and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal.

Their appearance in the matter on Wednesday came on the heel of a ruling of the same court, which on Monday dismissed their applications seeking to be joined as defendants in the suit.

Tambuwal had filed the suit to stop any plan to remove him as Speaker or declare his seat in the House vacant on the account of his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, on which platform he was elected to represent the people.

One of the two applications seeking to be joined as parties in the suit was jointly
filed on behalf of the people of Kebbe/Tambuwal Federal Constituency by
Chairman of Kebbe Local Government Area, Bala Konkani, and Chairman of
Tambuwal Local Government Area, Sambo Modo.

The other application was filed in the name of the constituents by three members of the Sokoto State House of Assembly – Abdussamad Dasuki, Suleiman Hantsi, and Shuaibu Umar – representing Tambuwal East, Tambuwal West and Kebbe constituencies respectively.

The constituents are opposed to Tambuwal’s removal as Speaker and declaration of his seat vacant, arguing that removing him would deprive them ofrepresentation in the House of Representatives.

But, Tambuwal had himself, through his lawyer, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), hand
opposed the constituents’ request to join the suit on the grounds that he
(Tambuwal) did not make against them and as such they could not be
accommodated as defendants in the suit.

The court in dismissing the applications upheld Fagbemi’s contention and also
held that their stance in the suit ran contrary to that of the existing co-
defendants on record.

On Wednesday, the counsel for the local government chairmen, Mr. Israel
Olorundare (SAN), and that of the Sokoto State legislators, Moyosore Onigbanjo
(SAN), informed the court that they had filed separate applications seeking leave
to appeal against the court ruling based on mixed law and facts.

They added that they had filed notices of appeal against the court’s ruling in
addition to applications for stay of proceedings.

The development stalled the proceedings on Wednesday which was scheduled for the hearing of Tambuwal’s application seeking an order of court to jail the
Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Suleiman Abba, for allegedly flouting an order of
the court.

Tambuwal’s lawyer, Mr. J. S Okutepa (SAN), on Wednesday asked the court to
adjourn the matter to enable him to respond to the applications for stay of
proceedings filed by the parties seeking to be joined.

But the counsel for the PDP and its National Chairman, Mr. Yunus Ustaz (SAN),
along with the lawyer of the Attorney-General of the Federation and the IGP, Mr.
Ade Okeaya-Inneh (SAN), opposed to request for adjournment.

They insisted that it was more appropriate to hear the contempt application which was scheduled as the court’s business for the day.

Ruling on the request for adjournment, Justice Ahmed Mohammed said it would
amount to denying parties seeking to be joined their rights to fair hearing and to
appeal against the decision of the court if the court proceedings were allowed to
go on without first hearing them.

The judge added that it would be tantamount to denying Okutepa fair hearing too
if the court adopted the suggestion by Ustaz and Okeaya-Inneh that responses to the applications for stay of proceedings should be done orally at the Wednesday’s proceedings.

Justice Ahmed adjourned the matter till December 9 for hearing of applications
seeking leave to appeal, stay of proceedings and the one seeking an order
compelling the IGP to appear in court.

The Speaker had on November 27 filed an application, alleging that Abba’s
instruction to officers of the police force to deny him access into the premises of the National Assembly preventing him from carrying out his lawful duties on
November 20, amounted to flouting the court’s order.

He added that Abba, in further disrespect of the order, on November 26, appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs and told the members that he would not recognise him (Tambuwal) as the Speaker.

“Everybody except Suleiman Abba, Esq, who is the Inspector General of Police,
has been obeying the order of this honourable court made on November 7, 2014,” his supporting affidavit had read in part.