There was a twist in the probe of the $10 million bribery allegation made against the House of Representatives by the spokesman of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Ikenga Ugochinyere, on Thursday, following an order by a Federal High Court in Abuja.
Ugochinyere had accused the House of allegedly receiving a $10 million bribe to facilitate the passage of the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill sponsored by the speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila and two others.
Exasperated by the accusations, the House had resolved to set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the bribery allegation and report back to it. The outcome of the panel’s investigation is expected to form the basis for a planned legal action by the House against the CUPP spokesman.
However, Ugochinyere was conspicuously absent at at the inaugural session of investigative hearing, on Monday. Although the CUPP spokesman was represented by his counsel, Tochukwu Ohazulike, who was present at the hearing, said he has filed a suit before a Federal High Court challenging the competence of the panel to sit over the allegation.
Regardless, the chairman of the ad-hoc committee, Honourable Nwawuba, gave Ikenga a 72-hour ultimatum to appear before, failure which the panel will conclude its probe and submit a report to the House.
According to him, though the ad-hoc committee had extended an invitation to the CUPP spokesman to appear before it, rather than attend the investigative hearing, Ugochinyere through his counsel brought a letter seeking to stall the exercise.
“It is critical, we listen to the CUPP. We will by this announcement be extending another invitation to them…I will like to state on fact that the CUPP or their representatives, Barrister Ikenga, was invited; he failed to appear. We are giving them one more chance to reach this committee; failure to do that, we will conclude investigation and submit our report to parliament,” Nwawuba stated.
Nevertheless, Ohazulike told journalists, on the sidelines, that it was unlikely that the CUPP would honour the summons of the panel, owing his suit challenging the competence of the House to summon him..
Ohazulike said :”We approached the Federal High Court, filed a suit to challenge that breach of the rule of natural justice that a man should not be a judge in his own case. That case is before the Federal High Court. The Clerk of the National Assembly has been served. The clerk of the House of Representatives, particularly, has been served. Attempts have been made to serve the chairman of the panel, he refused to acknowledge service.
“The constitution said Ikenga should not come here. If the constitution says Ikenga should not come here and a man says Ikenga must come; Ikenga will obey the constitution.”
Ugochinyere, who is also the National Chairman of the Action Peoples Party (APP) , in pursuit of his case, on May 20 obtained an interim injunction restraining the House from continuing with the probe.
The APP and Ugochinyere had in suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/475/2020 with Gbajabiamila, the House of Representatives, Clerk of the National Assembly and Inspector General of Police as defendants challenged the competence of the House to summon him in respect to the $10million bribery allegation.
The injunction restrained the “1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants whether by itself, members, committees, agents, staff, privies or howsoever described, from proceedings with the committee hearing or sitting of any committee or inviting, indicting and/or otherwise proceeding against the plaintiffs in connection with the opposition, condemnation or fair opinion expressed about the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Defendants over the alleged inducement to pass the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020 which is the subject matter of present suit pending the hearing and determination of the Motion of Notice.”
Armed with the court order, Ikenga’s lawyers stormed the House on Thursday for the investigative hearing. But the members of panel, apparently aware of the interim injunction stayed away. After waiting for several hours, the CUPP legal team left the National Assembly.
However, the question, with this twist, what becomes of the investigative hearing and the quest of the House to institute a legal action against Ikenga over the $10 million bribery allegation?
Nwawuba says if the objective of the CUPP spokesman is to play game, then he is dealing with the wrong.
According to him, “they were invited and you say you are not coming, and we are doing other things… If they want to play games, they are dealing with the wrong committee. “
There is no doubt that the last has not been on the House / Ikenga face-off. The days ahead will certainly be interesting as the legal battle on whether or not the Green chamber has the competence to summon the CUPP spokesman over the bribery allegation.
Be the first to comment