Two suspended members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dino Melaye and Mr. Solomon Awhinawhin, on Wednesday resumed sitting in the chamber, in compliance with the judgment of a Federal High Court in Abuja.



Melaye rushed into the chamber shortly after the session presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Alhaji Usman Nafada, began. He wrote his name in the attendance register and collected the Order Paper of the day before proceeding to his seat.



Melaye sat for about 11 minutes before he left the chamber. Awhinawhin also attended the sitting.



Both men were among the 11 lawmakers suspended by the House on June 23, following a free-for-all in the chamber. The 11 were members of a group, ‘Progressive-Minded Legislators,’ who had accused the leadership of the house of allegedly misusing N9bn of its budget.



On Thursday last week, the court had delivered judgment in favour of five of them, who challenged the suspension. They are Melaye, Awhinawhin, Anas Adamu, Independence Ogunewe and Bitrus Kaze.



On Tuesday, policemen and state security operatives had prevented Melaye, Awhinawin, Kaze and Adamu from entering the National Assembly on the grounds that they were acting on ‘directives from above.’ The action of the security agents caused a commotion at the gates of the National Assembly, resulting in a traffic jam.



But the lawmakers protested the action of the security agents, vowing that they would not allow their rights to be trampled upon.



But on Wednesday, Melaye and Awhinawhin drove through the two gates of the National Assembly into the premises, taking the Sergeant-at-Arms, Col. Emeka Okere (retd), by surprise.



As they alighted from their car, Okere reportedly ran after them to stop them but the two lawmakers outpaced him.



Speaking with journalists at the lobby of the house, Melaye described Wednesday as ‘victory day for democracy.’ He said he came to resume work in compliance with the judgment.



Melaye added,”They (House)said the filed an application for stay of execution. Stay of execution does not translate to judgment. The triumph of falsehood over truth is transient and evaporative; today is victory day.”



On his part, Awhinawhin said, “We are in a system of rule of law and we must be seen to be keeping the law.”



Meanwhile, in the chamber, the deputy speaker drew the attention of the House to the fact that a court had delivered judgment in favour of the suspended legislators. Nafada noted that as a law-abiding institution, the House of Representatives would comply with the decision of the court.



He directed that the matter should be referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges for investigation. The committee was given up till Tuesday next week to submit a report.



While the session was still on, the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Federal Capital Territory Command, Mr. Haruna John, paid a brief visit to the Speaker, Mr. Dimeji Bankole. John also met with the Director of the State Security Service Unit at the National Assembly, Mr. Mohammed Abdulrahman.



Bankole, Abdulrahman and the Clerk to the House, Mr. Sani Omolori, later walked John to the entrance of the assembly. John’s mission was unclear but a security source claimed that the commissioner came in “connection with recent security issues at the National Assembly.”



In a related development, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday ordered the immediate payment of the allowances of the affected lawmakers.



Delivering judgment in the suit filed by the only suspended female lawmaker in the group, Ms. Doris Uboh (PDP, Ika Federal Constituency), the judge also nullified her suspension on the grounds that the leadership of the House had no power to act in such a manner.


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