The Custodian April 30, 2014
…summons House of Reps to appear May
5
ABUJA — Justice Ahmed Mohammed of
the Federal High Court in Abuja, yesterday, denied granting an interim
injunction that stopped the Public Accounts Committee, PAC, of the House of
Representatives from investigating the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke, over allegation that she spent N10billion on chartered private
jets.
This was even as the embattled
Minister and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, told
the court that they never served such restraining order on either the House of
Reps or the Hon. Solomon Olamilekan led probe Committee.
It will be recalled that the House
Committee had suspended its original plans to commence investigation into the
matter last Monday, saying it was served with a copy of a restraining order
from the High Court.
The restraining order was said to have emanated from a suit with reference number FHC/ABJ/CS/295/2014 which was entered before the Federal High Court on April 11, 2014, by both the Minister and the NNPC.
However, at the resumed sitting on
the matter yesterday, the presiding Judge, Justice Mohammed, said he never made
such order, saying he only directed both the National Assembly and the House of
Reps, who were listed as the 1st and 2nd defendants in the suit, to appear and
show cause why he should not stop the probe as the plaintiffs prayed him to do.
The Judge said it was unfortunate
that the House of Reps which relied on a nonexistent order and claimed that it
was stopped from carrying out its oversight function by the court, failed to
enter appearance in the matter yesterday.
Consequently, he directed the House
to appear before him on May 5 to explain the origin of the restraining order it
said was issued by the court.
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