Contempt: Melaye, others file suit against Bankole, Clerk

Posted by admin Headlines, Legislature Saturday, December 25th, 2010

Five members of the House of Representatives reinstated by a Federal High Court in Abuja on December 2 on Wednesday filed contempt proceedings against the Speaker, Mr. Dimeji Bankole, and the Clerk to the House, Mr. Sani Omolori.

The lawmakers are Mr. Dino Melaye, Mr. Solomon Awhinawhin, Mr. Bitrus Kaze, Mr. Independence Ogunewe and Mr. Anas Adamu.

The plaintiffs had commenced committal proceedings and filed Form 49 against Bankole and Omolori. The plaintiffs are asking the court to take judicial notice that the defendants/contemnor had disobeyed its judgment nullifying the suspension of the five lawmakers.

They further claimed that the defendants had ‘refused’ to pay the plaintiff/applicants their outstanding salaries and allowances accruing to them since June 22, 2010 and had also denied them access to their offices.

Part of the notice of Form 49 served on the speaker and the clerk on Wednesday reads, “Take notice that the plaintiffs/applicants will on Wednesday, the 12th day of January 2011 at the hour of 9 O’clock in the forenoon, apply to this court for an order for committal to prison of the 1st and 3rd defendants/contemnor for having disobeyed the judgment of this honourable court made on 2nd of December 2010, nullifying the suspension of the plaintiffs/applicants as they have refused to pay the plaintiffs/applicants their outstanding salaries and allowances…”

The notice, which required Bankole and Omolori to appear in court to “show cause why an order for your committal to prison should not be made,” alleged that the defendants “illegally broke into” the offices of the legislators and reallocated them while their “illegal suspension” was on.

In a swift reaction to the

development, the leadership of the House described it as an “exercise in futility.”

The spokesman of the House, Mr. Eseme Eyiboh, told THE PUNCH on the telephone that the five lawmakers were abusing the “benevolence” of the leadership by embarking on their latest course of action.

“It is an exhibition of indiscretion, an exercise in futility and abuse of the leadership’s indiscretion,” Eyiboh stated.

He, however, did not deny the claim of the five that they had neither been paid their salaries nor allowed access to their offices as directed by the court.

The five were among the 11 legislators suspended on June 22 following a free-for-all on the floor of the House.

The 11 were members of a group, ‘Progressive-Minded Legislators’, who moved to hold the leadership accountable for allegedly misusing N9bn of the bydget of the House. wp_posts