A Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja yesterday gave its nod to a suit filed by a civil rights group, Registered Trustees of Social Justice and Civil Rights Awareness Initiative. The suit seeks to restrain the sole candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Femi Gbajabiamila from emerging as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
In the suit filed by the group’s lawyer, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), it want the court through an ex-parte application to give an order of court to stop Gbajabiamila from presenting himself for election into the office of the Speaker.
Listed as defendants alongside Gbajabiamila are House of Representatives and the Attorney General of the Federation.
The trial judge, Justice Abdul Kafarati who heard the matter in Chamber ordered the plaintiff to put the defendants on Notice to come and show reason(s) why the reliefs of the group (plaintiff) should not be granted.
Justice Kafarati consequently adjourned the case till June 18, 2015 for mention.
The group predicated its suit on ground that Gbajabiamila was convicted in the State of Georgia for unethical practices and had to be stripped of his bar licence for 36 months.
In its application, the group prayed the court to declare that Gbajabiamila is not fit and proper person to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives and as the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
The following are the reliefs sought by the plaintiff from the court:
- an order restraining the House of Representatives from accepting the nomination of Gbajabiamila as an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- order of injunction restraining Gbajabiamila from parading himself as a member of the House of Representatives and also as an aspirant for the office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
- an injunction restraining the House of Representatives and AGF from recognising Gbajabiamila as a member and also an aspirant for the office of the speaker of the house of representatives.
The plaintiff had also alleged that Gbajabiamila has a United States international passport even though he has Nigerian descent, as this contravenes the constitution as regards membership of the House of Representatives.
According to the group the mood of the nation today does not support putting the position of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in the hands of any individual that is not aboveboard.
