IGP loses suit seeking to stop Senate’s invitation

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, struck out a suit by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, seeking to stop the Senate from inviting him for a legislative hearing.

Delivering judgment in the suit which Idris filed after two successive invitations by the Senate, Justice John Tsoho ruled that the IG’s excuse for not honouring the Senate’s invitation was not tenable.

Ruling that the suit amounted to an abuse of court process, the judge said he agreed with the Senate and its President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, who were the two defendants, that the suit was only aimed at preventing the Senate from carrying out its legitimate and constitutional responsibility.

Meanwhile, the judge also withdrew from the IG’s second suit in which he sought an order quashing the May 9, 2018 resolution of the Senate declaring him “an enemy of democracy and unfit to hold any public office within and outside Nigeria”.

The judge sent the case file back to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Adamu Abdu-Kafarati, re-assignment to another judge.

The Senate had in a letter dated April 25, 2018, invited the IG to appear before it in relation to the purported inhuman treatment of the Kogi West Senator, Dino Melaye, and the killings in many parts of the country, including Benue, Plateau and Kwara States.

The IGP, on April 26, refused to appear before the Senate but delegated the Deputy Inspector General of Police (Operations) and Commissioner of Police, Kogi State, to represent him at the Senate.

But the Senate refused to grant an audience to the two representatives, insisting that the IG must personally appear for the legislative hearing.

The upper legislative chamber then rescheduled the meeting for May 2 and again directed that the IGP must honour its invitation in person.

But the IGP, through his lawyer, Dr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), filed his suit on April 30, 2018, challenging the Senate’s insistence on his personal appearance, which he argued was unnecessary because the issues for which he was invited were not personal.