The Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday warned the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, that he risks going to jail over the contempt proceedings initiated against him by Senator Ovie Omo-Agege.
The Delta-Central senator had initiated the committal proceedings praying that Saraki be sent to prison as punishment for flouting the May 10 judgment of the court which ordered him (Omo-Agege) to be reinstated from illegal suspension and be paid all his accrued benefits for the period of the voided suspension.
The hearing of the committal proceedings was scheduled for Thursday, but the alleged contemnor and his lawyers were absent from court.
Justice Nnamdi Dimgba in his ruling on a request by Omo-Agege’s lawyer, Alex Izinyon (SAN), to have the committal application heard despite the absence of the defence, said he was more inclined to giving the Senate President another chance to “remedy the alleged wrong” or appear in court to defend himself.
Justice Dimgba noted that the application was truly “ripe for hearing,” as argued by Izinyon, as the court’s records showed that Saraki had been served with the motion on notice and hearing notice for the Thursday’s proceedings via a newspaper publication of September 25, 2018 as earlier ordered by the court.
However, the judge said he would give Saraki another chance to remedy the alleged wrong or appear in court to defend himself.
He, therefore, directed Izinyon to write the Senate President and the legal department of the Senate, informing them of the adjournment of the proceedings till October 18.
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