Court Sets Aside Warrant for Maina's Arrest

Court Sets Aside Warrant for Maina's Arrest Nnamdi Felix / Abuja. A Federal High Court siting in Abuja Wednesday set aside the warrant for the arrest of the erstwhile chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reform, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, issued by the police at the instance of the Senate. The court issued a perpetual injunction restraining the Senate from ordering for Maina's arrest based on the warrant already it had set aside. The presiding judge, Justice Adamu Bello, held that even though the Senate had the power to summon anyone, that power was not absolute. He however advised Maina to appear before the Senate. "The power of the Senate to summon individuals to appear before it is also subject to the fundamental human rights of the individuals as provided for in the constitution. From the reliefs sought by the applicant, the application is challenging the powers of the Senate to issue a warrant of arrest, a careful perusal of Section 35(1) shows clearly that the right of liberty guaranteed the applicant by the Constitution is absolute." the court stated. The judge held that the Senate ignored the procedure governing its power in the performance of its oversight functions noting that it ought to have published its notice of invitation to Maina in its journal or the official gazette of the federation. He however cautioned that the judgment should not be misinterpreted to mean that the Senate did not have the powers to investigate or summon any person to give evidence regarding any subject matter under investigation. "Section 88(2) of the 1999 Constitution gives the National Assembly the power to invite or summon an individual for questioning in order to expose corruption, inefficiency among others. However that power is subjected to the provision of Section 88 of the constitution which highlighted the conditions to follow before an individual will be summoned". Justice Bello averred that Maina is entitled to a fair hearing and consequently set aside the warrant of arrest having not been validly issued. Maina had approached the court following the issue of a warrant for his arrest by the Police at the instance of the Senate on 2nd February, following a resolution by the Senate. He also prayed the court to quash the purported report of the Senate Committee’s resolutions that led to the issuance of the bench warrant, as the action violated his fundamental rights as guaranteed under Section 35(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

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