The Supreme Court has stopped the National Assembly from making any move towards amending Nigeria’s 1999 constitution.
In a ruling on Thursday, a seven-man panel, led by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, ordered the National Assembly to maintain status quo on the matter until June 18.
It also directed the issuance of hearing notice on the NASS for it to appear on that date to respond to the suit that was lodged against the proposed alterations to the constitution, by President Goodluck Jonathan.
But before the court issued the warning, the CJN had raised preliminary issues on the competence of the suit and the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter as presently constituted.
Specifically, the CJN sought clarifications on whether the suit was properly constituted, saying that the President should have filed the suit himself and not through the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF.
According to him, since the dispute was not between the Federal Government and the federating units, the proper person to file should have been the President.
The apex court said there is need to know whether the right parties were before the court and whether the Federal Government was not being dressed in a garb belonging to President Goodluck Jonathan.
But the lead counsel to the Federal Government, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN, maintained that the suit was properly constituted.
The justices of the court, again, tackled Chief Ojo over whether it was right not to make states’ Houses of Assembly parties since they participated in the process that resulted in the amendments.
Section 232 (1) of the 1999 Constitution does not allow individuals, including Mr. President, the national or state assemblies to invoke the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court or be named respondents in such a suit.
The apex court refused to take an application by Chief Ojo seeking an injunction stopping the National Assembly from going ahead with the enactment of the Fourth Alteration Act until the preliminary issues on competence of suit and jurisdiction of the court were cleared.
The court merely reminded parties of the principle of list pendens, warning parties not to do anything that could affect the subject-matter of the case in the event that it has merit.
The Supreme Court’s warning had effectively placed a moral burden on NASS to go ahead to pass the amendments into law as no restraining injunction was made by the court.
The Federal Government had invoked the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to declare as illegal and unconstitutional moves by the NASS to override President Jonathan’s veto on amendments to the Constitution.
The Federal Government claimed that the purported Fourth Alteration Act 2015 was not passed with the mandatory requirement of four-fifths majority of members of the defendant and the mandatory due processes provided for under the relevant sections of the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
In an originating summons, the Federal Government asked the apex court to make an order nullifying and setting aside of Sections 3, 4, 12, 14, 21, 23, 36, 39, 40, 43 and 44 of the Fourth Alteration Act, 2015 purportedly passed by the defendant.
But after the suit was filed, the NASS threatened to go ahead and pass the alteration act into law.
In order to stop the NASS from going ahead with its threat to go ahead with its intention to pass into law the controversial amendments to the Constitution, the AGF had applied for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the lawmakers from taking any further step towards passing the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (Fourth Alteration) Act, 2015 into law pending the final determination of the suit earlier filed before the court.
The application which was filed by the counsel to Chief Ojo was brought pursuant to Order 3 Rule 14 of the Supreme Court Rules as amended.
The AGF premised the application on grounds, among others, that the NASS was determined to proceed with passing the constitution by overriding the veto of same despite the fundamental nature of the issues raised against it.
In the application for injunction the AGF said it was more in the interest of the whole Nigerian polity that the issues in the substantive suit be resolved one way or the other before the NASS proceeds with the proposed alterations to the constitution.
The AGF said: ”Hon. Samson Osagie, Minority Whip of the House of Representative said to the whole world at a press conference purposely called on the issue in this suit that despite any case filed against the said Act (which actually is a Bill); the NASS would go ahead to pass it into law.”
The AGF said the balance of convenience tilts in favour of resolution of the suit before any further step could be taken on the Bill.
