Senate, SANs Seek Probe Of Alleged DSS Court Invasion
Senate Thursday resolved to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the alleged invasion of a Federal High Court by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).
It, therefore, directed its Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters to probe the matter and turn in the report within one week. The resolution followed a motion sponsored through a point of order raised by Michael Opeyemi Bamidele.
The committee, which incidentally is headed by the sponsor of the motion, is expected to examine what led to the invasion and advise the Senate on its next line of action.
The Federal Government has already ordered an investigation into last Friday’s invasion of the court. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, made the revelation on Wednesday.
The DSS, in a bid to re-arrest Omoyele Sowore, the presidential candidate of the African Action Congress in the February 2019 general election, had stormed the court, reportedly prompting the judge to flee the scene.
Explaining his motion, Bamidele said the Senate could no longer pretend as if nothing happened. He said that as representatives of the people, they must address the concerns of the people.
“It is a very crucial issue we cannot pretend about. The leadership and members of the judiciary are particularly concerned about this development. They believe, like the rest of us do, that the courtroom is meant to be a sanctuary. For us, as a Senate, we cannot begin to take position or analyse issues based on conclusion without facts that we consider incontrovertible. Yet, much as we cannot just jump into conclusion, it is also a fact that we cannot pretend not to know that Nigerians are concerned about this development,” Bamidele said.
The lawmaker had suggested that the Committee on Intelligence and National Security handle the investigation. But Senate President Ahmad Lawan disagreed, instead of mandating Bamidele’s committee to head the inquiry.
Also, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BoSAN) warned that unless truth about the identities of the persons who invaded the court is unravelled, Nigeria could become an object of ridicule in the comity of nations. It further asked President Muhammadu Buhari to set up a judicial commission of enquiry to probe the incident.
BoSAN made this known in Abuja during a special valedictory court session marking the retirement of Justice Kumai Aka’ahs from the Supreme Court.
In its speech read by Senior Advocate Onomigbo Okpoko, BoSAN said: “As members of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria associates itself with the condemnation of the show of shame. It will however go one step further to suggest that this matter should not be swept under the expanding carpet of deceit in Nigeria.
“The pertinent question is who was responsible for the action in the courtroom? This is a task that the government must carry out to ascertain the truth. It is the result of any such judiciary inquiry that will lead to the re-establishment of discipline in the society. The DSS and its officers are not above the laws of the land and the constitution.”
