Controversial Order: Judge To Grill Reps on Monday Justice A R Mohammed of the federal High court will today grill the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee,PAC, when they will fail to show the purported court order that stopped the house from going ahead with the probe of the alleged spending of N10billon on chartering of aircraft by petroleum minister Diezani Allison- Madueke. The court fixed today for the House to come and show cause why the order for status cuo sought by the petroleum minister should not be granted. The court also, frowned at the persistent absence of the House of Representatives in court to come and defend the legal action instituted against the House by the minister on a sensitive and serious matter. Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed further held that the House of Reps should appear before the court on the next adjorned date(today) and produce a copy of restraining order which the house alleged was granted in favour of petroleum minister. The Judge said that the need the Lawmakers to be in court on that day cannot be over emphasised because the House has misled the General public through a press statement on the purported insuance of restraining order by the court. Even when the House has not appeared once in the court. Both counsel to the senate, Yakubu maikyor SAN and counsel to the minister of petroleum Etigwe Uwah,SAN informed the judge that A B Mahmood SAN called yesterday morning that the Director legal services of the National Assembly has instructed him to hold the brief for the house but he was still waiting for the court processes to be send to him. Counsel to Deizani, Uwah, SAN, had complained bitterly to the court on the lookworm attitude of the house to appear and defend the legal action against it inspite of been served with summons and hearing notices. Uwah said the action of the lawmakers did not speak well of the integrity of the judiciary is to be protected from been maligned. Justice Mohammed had summoned the House of Representatives to come and show to it the purported order which stopped it from going ahead with the probe of the alleged spending of N10 Billion on chartering of aircraft by the Petroleum Minister Diezanni Allison-Madueke. Visibly angry Justice Ahmed Ramat Mohammed said he was embarrassed when he woke and saw a barrage of headlines claiming that he granted an order restraining the House of Reps from going ahead with the minister probe. Am interested in where they got the order from since it did not emanate from this court, the judge said. Justice Mohammed than demanded an explanation from the lawyer to the Petroleum Minister and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Etigwe Uwah, especially on the source of the information that resulted in the misinformation in the media. Uwah disassociated himself from the reports and told the judge that the House of Reps was the source of the reports. He produced a statement allegedly issued by the Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Zakari Mohammed purporting to show that the court had restrained the House from going ahead with the probe. Uwah said he was equally shocked as he was bombarded with calls and text messages asking him for clarification on the purported court order. The Judge consequently summoned the House of Reps to appear before it with the court order issued by him restraining the House from carrying out the probe.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 12:28:13 +0000
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