A suit bordering on perjury which seek to remove Deputy Senate President Ovie Omo-Agege was Wednesday thrown away by a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Bwari.
The suit was filed by the Incorporated Trustees of Patriotic Youth Organisation of Nigeria.
Delivering his judgment, Justice Othman Musa ruled that Omo-Agege had never been convicted by any court of law in the United States of America.
The judge stated further that the case against the Deputy Senate President in the U.S. was a disciplinary matter, saying “It was challenged in the US Supreme Court and he (Omo-Agege) won.”
Justice Musa held that there was no basis for Omo-Agege to disclose such information to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s Form CF001 that he has been convicted of any offence.
Affirming further, the judge noted that as such, the deputy senate president has not committed any perjury as canvassed by the claimant.
Consequently, the case was dismissed and the suit thrown out.
Justice Musa, who ordered the plaintiff to pay Omo-Agege N1million damages, said the disciplinary proceedings involving Omo-Agege in the State of California in the US, even if it ended in punitive action against the 1st defendant (Omo-Agege) could not be elevated to criminal proceedings, convicting and sentencing as provided under Section 66 (1) and (2) of the Constitution.
The judge said the conviction recognised by the Constitution and which could prevent one from holding public office in the country for 10 years is the conviction and sentencing entered by a Nigerian court, not a court of the foreign jurisdiction.
