House of Reps considers bill to provide immunity for Nigerian judges
- The House of Representatives is considering a bill to provide immunity to Supreme Court justices, chief judges of the Federal High Court and the 36 states state high courts
- The bill also seeks to include the judges of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the immunity clause
- The lawmakers said the bill would protect the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court, the Federal and state high courts
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A bill seeking to grant immunity to the Supreme Court justices, chief judges of the Federal High Court, the 36 states state high courts and that of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has scaled second reading at House of Representatives.
Source: UGC
The bill seeks to alter section 308 of the 1999 constitution as amended by restricting legal proceedings against heads of courts in the country, Premium Times reported.
The sponsor of the bill, Iduma Igariwey, said if it becomes law, the bill will protect the integrity and independence of the Supreme Court, the Federal and state high courts.
He said the doctrine of separation of powers will further be strengthened by protecting the judiciary from the excesses of the executive arm.
Currently, the Nigerian constitution in section 308 shields the president, the vice president, state governors and their deputies, for their period in office, from all forms of civil and criminal prosecution.
In another news, the Nigerian Senate has adjourned plenary till September 15 to enable its members to begin their annual summer vacation.
The Nation reports that the Senate president, Ahmad Lawan, on Thursday, July 23, announced this after an extended sitting of the upper chamber in Abuja. Legit.ng gathered that Lawan said despite the break, the various committees of the Senate would be working and available “to attend to urgent matters that require their attention.”
The Senate president directed the committee on finance to work with the minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, to prepare the 2021 Appropriation Bill.
He said the Senate hoped that the executive will, apart from the presentation of the 2021 budget estimates, forward to it the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) for consideration and passage.
Meanwhile, the Civil Society Groups for Good Governance (CSGGG) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to heed the Nigerian Senate's advise to sack the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission.
The Nigerian Senate had on Thursday, July 23 asked the president to as a matter of urgency sack the Professor Kemebradikuom Pondei-led interim Management Committee of the NDDC over alleged financial recklessness.
The upper chamber of the National Assembly also called for a new board of the NDDC to be constituted and the interventionist agency returned under the supervision of the presidency.
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