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Alleged Organ Harvesting: Lawyer Asks Nigerian Court To Declare Ekweremadu’s Seat In Senate Vacant

ekweremadu
September 22, 2022

Ekweremadu, a former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate represents Enugu West Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly.

An Enugu-based lawyer, Mr O. A. U. Onyeama has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Enugu, asking it to declare Senator Ike Ekweremadu’s seat vacant.

 

Ekweremadu, a former Deputy President of the Nigerian Senate represents Enugu West Senatorial District in the upper legislative chamber of the National Assembly.

 

Ekweremadu was arrested in the United Kingdom for alleged organ harvesting and trafficking on June 22 and was subsequently remanded in custody on June 30, 2022. Since then, he has remained in detention pending his trial.

He was arrested alongside his wife, Beatrice.

However, Onyeama, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former aspirant for Enugu West Senatorial Zone, which Ekweremadu represents, in the suit marked No: FHC/EN/CS/171/2022, told the court that it is the intendment and contemplation of the Constitution that Enugu West Senatorial District, shall have a functional representation in the Nigerian Senate.

Therefore, he said that if that representation is no longer available, his seat should be declared vacant.

Onyeama insisted that Ekweremadu has defaulted in representation, and has without cause absented from meetings of the Senate for a period amounting to more than one–third of the total number of days during which the House meets in one year.

 

He, however, sought the following reliefs from the court: “A DECLARATION that it is the intendment and contemplation of the Constitution, the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended, and the Senate Legislative calendar 2022, that the seat of Enugu West Senatorial District in the 9th Senate will be declared vacant by default if the Senator representing it is without just cause absent from meetings of the Senate for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one –third of the total number of days during which the House of Senate meets in any one year, which is 1/3 of 181 days.

 

“A DECLARATION that the 3rd defendant being the Senator representing Enugu West Senatorial District HAS DEFAULTED in representation, and HAS WITHOUT JUST CAUSE ABSENTED FROM MEETINGS of the Senate for a period amounting in the aggregate to more than one–third of the total number of days during which the House of Senate meets in any one year; and consequentially, it CANNOT be said that the 3RD DEFENDANT IS STILL VALIDLY REPRESENTING the Plaintiff AND Enugu West Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate, as provided by the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senate Standing Orders 2015 as amended; and it is insensitive, callous, unpatriotic, null, void and of no effect, for anyone to qualify the circumstance of the 3rd defendant’s absent and non-representation in the present scenario,  as being a just cause.

 

“A DECLARATION that going by the denial of several bail applications of the 3rd defendant by the United Kingdom Metropolitan Court, up till date, and the fixing of PRE-TRIAL on the 3rd defendant’s matter on or about 4th day of October 2022, and TRIAL on or about  the 28th  day of May 2023 as Judicially noticed, it CANNOT be RIGHTLY SAID that the 3rd defendant will still perform his duty of representing the Plaintiff or his senatorial district, before the end of the tenure of the 9th Senate around 29th day of May 2023, as provided for in the and the Senate Standing Order 2015 as amended, and the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended 2018.”

 

Onyeama who was runner-up in the 2018 PDP primary election for Enugu West is further seeking an order commanding and mandating the 5th and 6th Defendants to as a matter of expediency select, nominate and forward the name of the plaintiff (Chief Sir Ogochukwu A.U. Onyeama (O.A.U.) to the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 7th and 8th defendants as replacement of the 3rd defendant in the 2nd defendant, within 7 working days of the service of this Order.

 

He also seeks a “perpetual injunction restraining the 5th and 6th defendants from ever trying to submit, or submitting to the 1st, 2nd,  4th, 7th and 8th defendants, any other person’s name, under any guise, or reason whatsoever, other than the name of the Plaintiff being the available runner–up in the 2018 PDP Senatorial Primary Election, from where the 3rd defendant emerged as flag bearer, before the 6th defendant won the Seat of Enugu West Senatorial District in the 9th Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

 

Onyeama who expressed concern for Ekweremadu’s travails said it would be wrong to deprive Enugu West Zone of representation in the Senate.

Joined in the suit are the Senate President Ahmad Lawan; The Senate; Senator Ike Ekweremadu; Clerk of the National Assembly; PDP; National Chairman of the PDP- Iyorchia Ayu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

 

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