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Oputa Panel: Court Voids Summons on Abdulsalami
From Lillian Okenwa in Abuja, 11.29.2004
Three years after the Human Rights Violations and Investigation Commission (HRVIC), also called Oputa panel finished its job and handed its report to the Federal Government, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar has just secured a legal verdict voiding the summons issued on him to appear before the panel over allegation of human rights abuses. Another former Head of State, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida, had earlier received similar relief from a Lagos High Court, when he was summoned to appear before the panel. Abdulsalami through his counsel, Olajide Ayodele (SAN), filed the suit on October 10, 2001against the commission, its chairman, Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and the Attorney General of the Federation, challenging the summons issued on him in connection with some petitions where he was accused of committing a number of criminal offences. In a judgment delivered early this month, Justice Stephen Jonah Adah held that: •The order of refusal by the 1st respondent (Justice Oputa), acting as the Chairman of the 2nd respondent (HRVIC) to hear the applicant's counsel or allow the applicant through his counsel to cross examine the commission's witnesses and call his own witnesses to testify before the tribunal in respect of the allegations made against him by some of the commission's witnesses is accordingly quashed. • That order made by the 2nd respondent in the composite ruling of the HRVIC (Oputa panel) affecting the plaintiff/Applicant in petition number 458/695 delivered on October 3, 2001 is hereby quashed. •That the summons issued by the 1st and 2nd respondents requiring the applicant (Abubakar) to appear before them in connection with petitions number 458 and 695 in which plaintiff was accused by the second respondent's witnesses is unconstitutional, illegal and void in that it contravenes the rights of the plaintiff to fair hearing before a court or tribunal as guaranteed under section 36 of the 1999 constitution. •That the said summons is accordingly set aside. •That it is not lawful for the respondents to summon the plaintiff to appear before it to testify or to produce documents.
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