Immunity for Senate President, Speaker, Others, Rejected By Reps

The Special Committee on Amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the House of Representatives has rejected a bill seeking to confer immunity on judicial officers and on presiding officers of the National Assembly.

The National Assembly's presiding officers are the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Deputy Speaker of the House.

The bill is titled, “An Act to alter Section 308 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 to extend immunity to cover presiding officers of the legislative institutions.”The bill is sponsored by Segun Odebunmi (APC, Oyo).

Segun Odebunmi, chaired the Committee that approved the suspension of Twitter by the Federal Government. He is also the sponsor of the controversial National Broadcasting Commission bill and the Nigerian Press Council bill.

At the public hearing on the bill yesterday, Abdulhamid Mohammed, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who is one of the consultants working with the committee, presented the position of the consultants to the lawmakers.

Mohammed said even though the bill allows citizens to seek leave of the court to sue any of the mentioned public officials, it will create a conflict of interest, particularly as it relates to the judicial officers. He noted that the bill did not indicate which court has the competence to hear such cases. He added: “The immunity is not absolute.

Speaking against the bill, Uzoma Abonta (PDP, Abia), said immunity should only cover issues regarding duties and functions of those public officers, not criminal acts like rape or murder.

He noted that even though there are examples of abuse of process by the executive against the legislature and judiciary, blank immunity is not acceptable.

Culled/Extract: The Guardian Nigeria

Souce: Guardian

Comments

Major Hamza Al Mustapha-Boko Haram Will Cease In Six Months, As President

Major Hamza Al Mustapha, a former Chief Security Officer to late military Head of State General Sani Abacha is a presidential aspirant under the platform of Action Alliance, AA. Al Mustapha in an interview with the Hausa Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), said that if he becomes the President of Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency will end within six months. "I swear if it is not possible to defeat terrorists in six months, I will demote all these senior officers and send them home, they will be prosecuted and must return the money given to them because I will probe them. “If I become the President I will live in Sambisa, I will stay there during weekends, and holidays and see if anything will touch me,” he said.

Hollywood Stars Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Marry In Las Vegas

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have tied the knot in a Las Vegas wedding. Thereby Obtaining Marriage License in Vegas. Months after revealing their engagement in April 2022, the couple obtained a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada, over the weekend. Clark County Clerk's Office in Nevada - where Las Vegas is located - shows on its record system that Lopez intends to change her name to Jennifer Affleck. "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient," she wrote on her fan website OntheJLo. The pair called off their first engagement in January 2004. Last year, news of the couple getting back together had sent fans into a swirl. The duo are known to publicly displayed their rekindled love and affection towards each other on social media. Giving an update on her OntheJLo website, the actress and music superstar announced that they had flown to Las Vegas on Saturday and queued for a marriage licence alongside four other...

BREAKING: CBN To Stop Selling Forex To Banks This Year

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) on notice that it will stop selling forex to them by the end of 2022. CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele made this known in Abuja on Thursday at the end of the Bankers’ Committee Meeting where he also introduced the RT200 Programme. Emefiele said the time had come for the banks to go out there and source for forex by funding entrepreneurs with ideas. Emefiele also disclosed that the apex bank’s policies and measures have led to a significant improvement in diaspora inflow from an average of US$6 million per week in December 2020 to an average of over US$100 million per week by January 2022. The CBN, he said, would be reviewing these intervention programmes going forward to ensure that they continue to achieve the desired results. Source: The Nation

Welcome To Echo Blog

Search This Blog