A legal practitioner, Ugochukwu Osuagwu, Esq, has warned the Nigerian Senate to respect the doctrine of separation of powers and not to arbitrarily constitute itself into a court of law or usurp the powers of the judiciary.
Senate had accused Buratai of insulting the chamber by refusing to appear before a committee on a petition filed by Lt. Col . Abdulfatai Mohammed who was dismissed from the Nigerian Army for allegedly abusing his office and carrying out actions considered to be at variance with the code of conduct for members of the Armed Forces in Nigeria.
In his reaction, Osuagwu in a chat on national issues with newsmen, said there is every likelihood that the Senate is not aware of its standing rules which barred the chamber from interfering in issues before the court.
He lamented that the summon on Buratai on the same issue currently before the National Industrial Court was an attempt make a mockery of the court.
Osuagwu added that the Senate must not be allowed ”the wild goose chase against its own rules as stated in Standing Rules 2015, where it was unequivocally stated that matters in Court must not be discussed before the plenary.”
“We must do well to save the hallowed chamber, and quickly remind them that by the provisions of the Standing Rules 2015 of the Senate, matters in court should not be entertained.
”Yet the Senate went ahead, usurping the powers of the Court and took up a matter of Employee Dismissal already before the National Industrial Court.
“It is clear that the Senate on this ground does not have the jurisdiction to hear the petition or even summon the Chief of Army Staff.”
”The petitioner, Lt Col Mohammed had on August 12, 2016 filed a suit in the National Industrial Court against the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army seeking reinstatement.
”This means the matter which the dismissed officer took to the Senate is
already in Court and subjudice. If the senate had done due diligence it would have realized this long ago”, the legal practitioner added.
Osuagwu appealed to the Senate to respect its boundary and allow the Court to do justice to the matter by expressly discharging itself of the powers to abdicate in the dispute.
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