In the aftermath of the senate saga resulting in the forceful entry into the senate chambers and the attendant 'stealing' of the mace, so many commentaries have been running particularly as it concerns the legality of the suspension of Senator Omo-Agege by his peers. Some notable legal practitioners like Falana, SAN and even Prof Sagay are of the view that the NASS has no power to suspend a law maker citing inter alia the case of Senator Ndume, Dana vs Bauchi House of Assembly, etc. Falana said that it is only a court of law or a law maker's constituency that can exercise the right to suspend or remove a law maker.
I doubt if this is the current position of the law as it pertains to the power of the NASS to dicsipline and sanction erring members. Of course the constitution in section 60 expressly provides that:
‘’Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, the Senate or the House of Representatives shall have power to regulate its own procedure, including the procedure for summoning and recess of the House".
Pursuant to the powers donated to it under the constitution, the NASS presented to President Buhari and the latter signed into law on January 26, 2018 a bill known as the ‘’Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges), Act 2018’’. Section 21 (2) of the law states that ‘’where any member is guilty of contempt of a Legislative House, the House, may by resolution, reprimand such member or suspend him from the service of the House for such period as it may determine’’.
Section 22 further says that, ‘’Suspended member excluded from Chamber and precincts:
‘’A member of a Legislative House who has been suspended from the service of that House shall not enter or remain within the Chamber or precincts of the House while such suspension remains in force, and, if any such member is found within the Chamber or precincts of the House in contravention of this section, he may be forcibly removed therefrom by any officer of the House and no proceedings shall lie in any court against such officer in respect of such removal’’.
In a nutshell, the senate acted under extant laws made pursuant to section 60 of the constitution in suspending Senator Omo-Agege. By his suspension, Omo-Agege was not supposed to be within the precinct of the NASS or even gain access into the chambers.
I am not aware that the Legislative Houses (Power and Privileges), Act 2018 was the subject of Senator Ndume's law suit culminating in the reversal of his suspension. The law was validly passed with the president signing it into law only this year. I am not aware that any court has invalidated the law at it stands so i do not know the basis or justification of Falana's assertion that the NASS cannot suspend a law maker.
The power of the legislature to regulate itself is universally acknowledged and practiced . For instance, Article I, Section 5, of the U.S. Constitution provides that "Each House [of Congress] may determine the Rules of its proceedings, punish its members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, expel a member".
Even statutory and corporate bodies have internal regulating rules which our law courts have given validation to. In the case of Chinwo v. Owhonda (2008) 3 NWLR (Pt. 1074) 341, 361 which dealt on the issue of freedom of association and the implication of subscription to membership of associations, it was held that "In the exercise of their constitutional rights under sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee freedom of thought, assembly, association, etc., individuals elect to and do subscribe to membership in associations, which sometimes curtail their rights. The appellant, while exercising his right, joined an honourable profession of formidable societal influence and relevance which of necessity has rules and regulations to guide his professional conduct and which along the line curtail some of his choices. The appellant was not compelled to take up the profession of law and its attendant compulsory membership of the Nigerian Bar Association. However, once he made the choice to study and practice law and thereby placing his name on the roll of honour of belonging to the profession, he stands bound by the internal rules and regulations of the Association..."
Omo-Agege as an individual has fundamental rights to freedom of association and expression but as a senator those rights are curtailed by the Rules of the NASS. No law maker is compelled to remain in the NASS if he/she disagrees with those Rules. The Rules stands until amended or removed by the majority of NASS members. No single law maker can decide to ignore or rubbish those rules without attendant consequences.
