Omo-Agege: Senate Appeals Court Ruling Nullifying Lawmaker’s Suspension

The Senate has filed a notice of appeal and a stay of execution on a High Court judgement, nullifying the suspension of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
Daily Post reports that, Olu Onemola, an aide to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, made this known, Thursday evening, in a statement.
“The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Coram Nnamdi Dimgba .J. in a judgment delivered today, the 10th May, 2018 in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/314/18 between Sen. Ovie Omo-Agege V. Senate & 2 Ors held that the Senate and the Senate President who where the 1st and 2nd Defendants in the suit filed by Sen. Ovie Omo Agege can punish erring members of the Senate. The Court also held that all reliefs of the plaintiff are not grantable as they could not be supported by the processes filed by the plaintiff.
“However, relying on Relief 8 which is the Omnibus prayer, the Court held that the suspension was not in accordance to law, the Senate and the Senate President promptly filed a Notice of Appeal and a Motion for Stay of Execution of the same Judgement on the 10th of May, 2018,” Onemola wrote.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court gave the ruling nullifying the suspension on Thursday .
Justice Dimgba however also ruled that the Senate had the power to punish its members.
The senator representing All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta was suspended by the senate because he openly criticized the amendment of election sequence carried out by the senate. Omo-Agege had accused the Senate of targetting President Muhammadu Buhari with the Electoral Act Amendment, especially that aspect that deals with modification of election sequence.
Omo-Agege who was referred to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions for investigations of comments attributed to him, sued the senate asking the court to stop the committee from investigating him. Following the suit, the committee recommended that the senator be suspended and he was therefore suspended for 90 legislative days.

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