Jigawa court orders Assembly to reinstate and refund suspended member

Ahmed Abubakar, Dutse

A Jigawa high court sitting in Dutse has directed the state’s House of Assembly speaker to reinstate a suspended member, Alhaji Sani Isyaku Abubakar, who represents Gumel state constituency.

The member was suspended in March over an alleged attack on the state governor Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar Badaru who had been on a visit to Hadejia town for a wedding ceremony.

The high court judge, Justice Ahmed Isa, in his judgement ruled that the suspension of the member ‎by the Speaker of the House on March 5 was ‘illegal, inappropriate, null and void.’

The high court judge declared that the action of the House Speaker did not comply with order 15 rule 74 (2)(c) and (3) a,b of the state House of Assembly standing orders 2017 and is thereby ‘illegal, inappropriate, null and void.’

That the setting aside the indefinite suspension of the claimant by the defendant was in violation of the fundamental right to a fair hearing of the claimant as enshrined in section 36 of the ‎1999 constitution and also in violation of order 15 rule 74 of the state assembly orders 2017.

That order‎ 15 rule 74 of the assembly standing orders 2017 which gives powers to the Assembly to suspend a member indefinitely is inconsistent with sections 105 (1) and 117 (1) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which recognises a four years term for a member and a right due to his constituency to be represented and is therefore null and void.

The judge directed that the perpetual injunction restraining the defendants either by themselves or through their agents, officers or privies from denying the claimant entrance into the Jigawa State House of Assembly, or performing his functions as an elected member therein, or violating any of his fundamental human rights whatsoever.

The court also directed that the defendant must pay the ‎claimant his withheld three months allowances to the tune of N3 million that he was denied since his suspension from March.

The court also ruled that another sum of N3 million monthly allowance payable to all the members under the reviews remuneration package for political, public and judicial officers be made.