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| Prof. Wole Soyinka |
National
Assembly has filed an objection to a suit by Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole
Soyinka, and Fred Agbeyegbe, seeking a Federal High Court, Lagos to
declare that the amended 1999 Constitution is not an act of the people.
The
Clerk of the National Assembly, in a written address dated March 15,
2012, filed by Mr. Friday Akoko, urges the presiding judge, Justice
James Tsoho, to strike out the suit on the grounds of a lack of
jurisdiction.
The
plaintiffs had instituted the suit in 2009 seeking the production of a
constitution that is “a true reflection of the peoples’ opinion”
emanating from “a proper referendum”.
They
maintain that the constitution is “patently and inherently defective”
because it allegedly does not reflect the opinion of the people of
Nigeria.
They
are therefore asking the court to order that the draft constitution
prepared by the Peoples’ National Conference in August 2006 and the
recommendations of the National Political Reform Conference of 2006 be
subjected to “a proper referendum” of Nigerians within 18 months.
In
the alternative, they asked the court to order that the 1999
Constitution be subjected to such referendum in order to seek the
opinion of the people of Nigeria.
Among
the five respondents in the suit, only the Clerk of the National
Assembly was represented by a counsel at Thursday’s proceedings, and
had so far, filed an address challenging the court’s jurisdiction to
hear the suit.
Other
defendants in the suit are the President of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria; the Attorney-General of the Federation; the President of the
Senate; and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Akoko
maintained that the plaintiffs ought to have filed the suit in Abuja
Judicial Division of the court, “where the 1999 Constitution was
promulgated and all the defendants reside and carry on their business”.
He
contended that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a misconception “as to
the proper forum” to commence the action by filing the suit at the Lagos
Division of the court.
According to him, such development has robbed the court of its jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Counsel
for Soyinka and Agbeyegbe, Mrs. Folashade Bankole, had also in her
written address, insisted that the Federal High Court has only one
jurisdiction.
She faulted the argument canvassed by Akoko, saying that could not be a basis for dismissing her suit.
Tsoho adjourned hearing in the issue of jurisdiction to June 6, 2012.
The
name of the late Biafra warlord, Chief Chukwuemeka Odimegwu-Ojukwu, who
was until his death a plaintiff in the suit, was at the last adjourned
date on February 9, 2012 struck out from the suit.
The Punch
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