By Odunayo Abiodun
March 17, 2010 06:30AM
Court says Raji Fashola can't be probed.
The Lagos State House of Assembly was on Tuesday restrained, by a court order, from proceeding with its resolution to investigate alleged financial impropriety levied against the executive and legislative arms of the Lagos State government by a six-man committee set up by the House.
While delivering judgement in the suit filed by Richard Akinola, a journalist and human rights activist against the Lagos State House of Assembly, Justice Habeeb Abiru held that the defendant can go through with its resolution, only if due process of publishing the resolution in the official Gazette or journal of the Lagos State government was followed, which was not the case.
Consequently, he made an order: “An order of injunction is hereby made restraining the defendant whether by itself, agents, members, officers, privies or by whomsoever howsoever from proceeding with or acting on the resolution of 28th January, 2010 directing the investigation of allegations of financial impropriety levied against the executive and legislative Arms of the Lagos State Government by a group published in the Punch Newspaper of January 28, 2010 under the caption ‘The True Face of Lagos’ without the resolution having been published in its journal or official Gazette of the Lagos State Government.”
Justice Abiru further declared that the action of the defendant in constituting a six-man committee, based on the advertorial in the Punch Newspaper without first publishing the resolution in the official journal is a fundamental breach of the provision of section 128(1) of the 1999 Constitution and is therefore unconstitutional, illegal, unlawful, ultra vires and of no effect whatsoever.
Failure to show violation of the Constitution
The presiding judge however refused to declare that the decision of the defendant to set up the six-man committee to investigate allegations is a violent and fundamental violation of the principles of natural justice. He also did not declare that the circumstance surrounding the investigation by the defendant is tainted with bias, as requested by the claimant.
“The claim for a declaration that having regards to the surrounding circumstances the investigation by the defendants of allegations of financial impropriety levied against the executive and legislative Arms of the Lagos State Government by a group published in the Punch Newspaper of January 28, 2010 under the caption ‘The True Face of Lagos’ or by any group is tainted with bias and programmed to a predetermined end, fails and it is hereby refused.”
In dismissing the claim of the applicant that the defendant cannot investigate allegations against itself, Justice Abiru held that the counsel to the claimant did not refer the court to any section of the Constitution that prohibits the defendant from doing same.
“This court is however unable to see how and where this action of the defendant, though morally condemnable, offends any provision of the 1999 Constitution. The power of this court to sanction the activities of the defendant begins and stops only where the action violates the provision of the Constitution, thus the contention of the claimant on this point, through attractive must be rejected and it is hereby rejected,” he said.
Observation
Justice Abiru observed that the House decided to set up a committee to investigate allegations from an unknown body and that no reason was adduced by the House for the urgent action it took.
“The group, ‘The True Face of Lagos’ had not hitherto been known for or associated with the struggle for good governance and probity in government expenditures in Nigeria, yet the House decided to set up a committee, expending tax payers money and time meant to be used for making laws for the good of the people of Lagos state to investigate the allegation, without stating any cogent reason in the House proceedings for that day, why it deemed the allegation important enough to direct that they be investigated,” he said.
He further posed some question, as to whether the House of Assembly will set up another committee based on any other advertorial from a faceless body.
“Does this mean that if tomorrow another advertorial comes out from another faceless group accusing members of the House of collecting bribes from an agency of government, for example and shirking in their constitutional responsibilities another committee will be set up to investigate same?”
History
Mr. Akinnola, had filed a suit against the Lagos State House of Assembly on February 8, asking for a declaration by the court that the decision of the defendant to set up a committee to investigate the allegation of financial impropriety levied against the executive and legislative arms of Lagos State government is unconstitutional.
He also asked for a perpetual injunction of the court restraining the defendant or its agents from proceeding on the purported investigation of the allegations levied against it by a group under the caption, “The True Face of Lagos”, amongst other declarations.
While Mr. Akinnola premised his claim on the ground that
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