Chartered Jet suitt: Court Fines Reps

Chartered Jet suitt: Court Fines Reps

Posted by Sylvester on Thursday, July 3, 2014 0

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A Federal High Court in Abuja yesterday slammed a N40, 000 fine on the House of Representatives for want of diligent prosecution in the matter before it involving the alleged spending of N10 billion by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on charted aircraft.

Mrs. Diezani

The presiding judge, Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed ordered the House to pay the fine following the failure of counsel to Reps, Mr. A.B Mahmud (SAN) to respond to Mrs. Diezani’s’ counsel’s applicant to amend the Originating Summons in the suit.

Counsel to the plaintiffs (Diezani and the NNPC), Mr. Etigwe Uwah (SAN) had filed an amendment to the court processes on June 9, 2014, seeking to “perpetually restrain the House of Representatives and the Senate who are 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively from investigating the plaintiffs.

As required by the court’s civil procedure act, the defendant’s counsel, Mahmud (SAN) filed out of time which necessitated the fine.

At the last hearing, the court had temporary restrained the House from probing Diezani and the NNPC pending the hearing of the substantive suit yesterday.

Mr. Mahmud had opposed the plaintiffs’ application to amend the Originating Summons.

He said: “It will set the process back and alter the course of proceedings.”

Subsequently, Justice Mohammed adjourned the matter to July 9 for the hearing of the substance of the matter.

Nigerian pilot recalls that the court had issued a restraining order the House Committee on Public Accounts ahead of its plan to carry out the probe on June 25, 26 and 27, 2014.

The order followed an application by the counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr. Etigwe Uwa (SAN), who asked the court for a preservative order pending the hearing of the suit.

He had urged the court to make the order, alleging that letter dated May 23, 2014, by the House Committee on Public Acounts, inviting his clients for the probe, constituted a disrespect for the court.

The plaintiffs are, through their substantive suit are asking the court to declare that the Senate and the House of Representatives, who are the two defendants in the suit, lacked the power to summon them without the consent of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The judge in his ruling said the Committee on Public Accounts had no genuine reason to continue the probe on June 25, 26 and 27, 2014, having been aware of the pending suit seeking an order to restrain them from carrying out the investigation.