A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja yesterday refused an exparte application by five senators seeking to stop the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, from performing his constitutional legislative duties on account of use of the purported forged Senate Standing Rule for his June 9 election in the senate.
The trial judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, who refused the request yesterday, explained that he could not move in favour of the applicants because he had no evidence that the five senators had the mandate of the remaining 104 other senators to bring the suit.
Besides, the trial judge held that the outcome of the June 9, 2015 election on the floor of the senate which produced Saraki appeared to fall within internal affairs of the Senate which the court must be wary to go into, adding that the request made was so serious that it would be unfair to grant their request exparte.
He gave other reasons to reject the request of the five senators, saying it would be as if he is determining the entire case on its merit.
The senators pushing for incapacitation of Saraki are Abu Ibrahi, Kabiru Garba Marafa, Robert Ajayi Boroffice, Bareehu Olugbenga Ashafa and Senator Suleiman Othman Hunkuyi.
They filed an ex-parte motion at the Federal High Court,Abuja yesterday, seeking to stop the Senate President from constituting the Senate Standing Committees.
Saraki had no opportunity of defending the suit, being an exparte application.
But ruling in the ex-parte motion filed and argued by Chief Mamman Mike Osuman on behalf of the five senators led by Senator Kabir Marafa, Justice Kolawole held that there was nothing urgent in what the plaintiffs were asking for.
The judge said that the senate standing order 2015 as amended, upon which the plaintiffs predicated their ex-parte motion, had been in existence since June 9 when the senate president and his deputy were elected and as such the issue of urgency raised by the five senators was self-inflicted.
-National Mirror
