“Yesterday, we had a press conference where we disassociated ourselves from the purported removal of the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Maurice Ikpambese.
We fought to instil fairness , equitable, and fair hearing, which were completely abandoned or ignored at yesterday’s proceedings.
Today, we have been suspended for standing against the unlawful and tyrannical practice by the House of Assembly.
We are here to state in clear terms that we do not accept the suspension because the House of Assembly lacks the powers to suspend us beyond 14 days, as indicated in the standing rules of the House (Order 10, Rule 73).
The suspension is, therefore, null and void .
You can also recall that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria guarantees the right to freedom of speech and fair hearing. The House, just like in the case of the Chief Judge, completely neglected this provision of the constitution. Fair hearing was not given the Chief Judge, and today, fair hearing has not been given to us.
In any case, we have the freedom as enshrined in the constitution to express our views without intimidation.
This is an attempt to subdue democracy. It’s an attempt to intimidate us. We reject the suspension.”
- Excerpts from today’s press briefing by 13 lawmakers of the Benue State House of Assembly.
