Impeachment: Al-Makura asks probe panel to dismiss case

The governor called for the dismissal of the case because the 20 state lawmakers, who signed the notice of impeachment to remove him, did not appear before the committeee.The seven-man panel, constituted by Chief Judge Suleiman Dikko, adjourned the sitting to today, to give more chance for the  20 lawmakers to appear to prove the […]

The governor called for the dismissal of the case because the 20 state lawmakers, who signed the notice of impeachment to remove him, did not appear before the committeee.
The seven-man panel, constituted by Chief Judge Suleiman Dikko, adjourned the sitting to today, to give more chance for the  20 lawmakers to appear to prove the allegations against the governor. The governor appeared at the venue of the sitting around 9am, alongside his nine-man legal team led by Chief Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Our correspondent reports that a large crowd of government appointees, associates of the governor and officials of the APC were also at the venue of the sitting.
The four members of the APC at the House of Assembly were also present during the hearing.
But the 20 PDP lawmakers, who signed the impeachment notice and their legal representatives, were absent.
This forced the panel to adjourn sitting.
The 20 lawmakers had last week directed the Chief Judge to reconstitute the panel, saying they had no confidence in the one already constituted by him.
But the Chief Judge declined.
Yusuf Shehu Usman, the panel chairman, after consultation with the other six members of the panel, announced the adjournment yesterday, saying the decision was taken “in the interest of justice and fairness.”
He said a notice of invitation will be served on the 20-members and same will be pasted at relevant offices for their attention.
 Earlier, lead counsel to the governor, Chief Udechukwu Nnoruka Udechukwu, had urged the panel to dismiss the case, citing Section 280 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which provides that when a case is called and the prosecution is not in court for appearance, the court can dismiss the case.
He said the 20 lawmakers neither served the governor, nor made a copy of the impeachment notice available to the panel.
 “The only available notice is the publication in Daily Trust,” Chief Udechukwu said.
But the panel chairman declined, insisting that in the interest of justice and fairness, the panel will give the lawmakers the grace to appear today.
 When he was called to announce his appearance, Al-Makura said he was not served the notice of impeachment by the Assembly as required by Section 188 (2)(b) of the constitution.
 He said his appearance was in response to the invitation by the panel, adding that he will like to tell his story.
Later yesterday, one of the 20 lawmakers who signed the notice, Francis Orogu, told Daily Trust the House is keenly waiting for completion of proceedings by the panel to see where it will submit its report.
 “We are keenly waiting for them to complete the assignment they have given themselves. After that, we will wait and see where they will submit their report. That will be the end of the story,” Orogu said.
He said the House will have no business with this panel, “because it has no jurisdiction to sit on the matter”.
 “In the first place, we have said this panel was set up by the Chief Judge without recourse to the constitution. Its membership is drawn from a political party. On the panel; are friends of the governor. The report of such a panel can better be imagined. Secondly, we asked the Chief Judge to reconstitute the panel; he defied our directives,” he added.
Meanwhile, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, a former Lagos State police commissioner, reacted to the non-appearance of the signatories of the impeachment notice, saying the confusion will end the gale of impeachments across the country.
 “I am keenly waiting to see the end of this show of arrogant impunity across the country. The lawmakers want impeachment, but they don’t want the constitution which provides for the impeachment,” he said.
“It is strange that they are not here to prove their allegations against the governor. Maybe they didn’t know that impeachment does not start and end with the legislature.”
Meanwhile, truckloads of armed policemen and soldiers, as well as men of the State Security Service (SSS) and the Civil Defence were deployed along Shendam Road and other strategic locations during the proceedings.
 The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Umaru Ismaila, confirmed the deployment, saying: “It is our duty to provide security and we have been doing that. Today (Monday) we had to do what we have been doing. There was a public hearing of a panel along that road today, so the command, in line with its proactive security measures, decided to deploy its men there.”