A Federal High Court in Abuja, has struck out a suit which sought the sack of Senate President, Bukola Saraki and Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Justice John Tsoho, while giving a judgment on a suit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Civil Society Observatory for Constitutional and Legal Compliance (CSOCLC), on Monday, agreed that the senate president and his deputy cannot be removed except with two-third majority of the house.
The suit had all the 109 Senators as defendants.
Court agreed with the defence counsel that the Senate president and his deputy can only be removed pursuant to a resolution supported by the votes of not less than 73 members of the Senate.
The suit followed insinuations during the hay days of defection that hit the Senate in 2018, when Saraki defected from the All Progressives Congress to the Peoples Democratic Party, that plans were afloat to impeach Saraki and Ekweremadu.
Justice Tsoho, in his judgement held that newspaper reports showing threats of removing the Senate President and his deputy, which the plaintiff tendered as evidence in support of its case, are not admissible in law.
Citing Supreme Court judgments in that direction, Justice Tsoho said, “There is no evidential value in the newspaper publications tendered by the plaintiff”.
The Judge held that the plaintiff failed to show any credible evidence to persuade the court in any way to grant the declarative reliefs it sought from the court.
“I hold that the plaintiff has failed to adduce credible and cogent evidence in support of its originating summons.
“Accordingly, all the reliefs sought by the plaintiff cannot be granted due to lack of credible evidence. The suit, as filed by the plaintiff is hereby struck out”, the Judge held.
In the originating summons dated August 24, 2018, the group argued that by the clear and extant provisions of section 50(2) (c) of the 1999 constitution, Saraki and Ekweremadu cannot be removed from their offices unless by a resolution of the Senate supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate.
The plaintiff posed the following questions for the court’s determination, “whether by the clear and extant provisions of section 50(2) (c) of the 1999 constitution, a President of the Senate and a Deputy President of the Senate such as Saraki and Ekweremadu can be removed from their said offices as President of the Senate and deputy President of the Senate respectively unless by a resolution of the Senate supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of the members of the Senate.”
“Whether by the combined provisions of sections 3(1) and (4) and (48) of the 1999 Constitution, the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is not comprised of 109 members and whether two-thirds majority of the 109 members of the Senate is not comprised of 73 members.”
The plaintiff also wanted the court to answer the question whether the 1st and 2nd defendants can be removed from office as President of the Senate and Deputy President of the Senate respectively unless pursuant to a resolution supported by the votes of not less than 73 members of the Senate.
In a 11- paragraph supporting affidavit to the originating summons deposed to by ThankGod Ubani, stated that some All Progressives Congress (APC) members of the Senate connived with the Executive arm of government and security agencies to harass Saraki and Ekweremadu with the motive to illegally remove them from office.
Ubani averred that: “On the first day, they planned to illegally and unlawfully remove the 1st and 2nd defendants from office by trying to prevent them from coming to the National Assembly so they could be removed in their absence”.
