Senate Standing Order: Court threatens to quash police report

ABUJA — Justice Gabriel Kolawole of Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, yesterday, threatened to quash any police report on the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order.

The judge maintained that the police ought to refrain from taking further action on the matter pending the determination of a suit lodged before the court by Senator Gilbert Nnaji.

Nnaji, who is representing Enugu-East Senatorial District, had gone before the court with a view to stopping the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, from taking further steps towards investigating and prosecuting those behind the alleged forgery of the Senate Standing Order 2015.

The plaintiff in the suit he filed on July 23 joined the IGP and the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, as the 1st and 2nd respondents in the matter.

He specifically urged the court to restrain the two respondents from taking further action on the matter pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit before it.

Meanwhile, Justice Kolawole who had on July 27 summoned the two respondents to appear before him to show cause why the reliefs sought by the plaintiff should not be granted by the court, yesterday, warned all the parties against taking any step capable of jeopardising the ‘res’ of the suit.

He stressed that whenever a competent court is seized with the facts of any case, no action ought to be taken by any of the parties until the court determines the subject matter of litigation before it.

While adjourning the matter till September 8, the court said it would not hesitate to summon the IG to appear before it to account for whatever action the Police had taken on the investigation since the suit was filed.

Meantime, the Federal Government, through the Office of the AGF, yesterday, urged the high court to strike out the suit for want of competence.

The government also challenged the locus standi of Senator Nnaji to institute the action .

In a preliminary objection it filed through a senior lawyer in the Federal Ministry of Justice, Mr. Taiwo Abidogun, the Federal Government told the court that the allegation concerning the forgery of the said Senate Standing Order 2015 predated the emergence of both Saraki and Ekweremadu as Senate President and Deputy Senate President, respectively.

“We submit that it will be in the interest of justice for this matter to be struck out in its entirety as the plaintiff’s suit has not disclosed or shown that he has any personal remedy arising from the disclosed cause of action, that exceeds that of Senator Ike Ekweremadu or the Senate as an entity,” it said.

Besides, it argued that the plaintiff, failed to show how his personal rights were or would be abused should the police succeed in unravelling those that masterminded the alleged forgery.

The matter will be handled on the next adjourned date by a different judge.

Justice Kolawole, yesterday, said he would transfer the case-file to Justice Ademola Adeniyi who is billed to resume work as the second vacation judge next week.