Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the powers of the National Assembly to make laws including the Bill amending election sequence.
The appellate court also dismissed the judgement of a Federal High Court in Abuja, which on April 25 stopped the National Assembly from overiding the assent of the president in the Bill.
A four-member panel of justices presided by the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa on Wednesday held that the decision of the trial court in delving into the matter amounted to a breach of the Doctrine of Separation of Powers.
The President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, who delivered the lead judgment, held that the lower court was bereft of the vires to assume jurisdiction and void a bill that was still undergoing the legislative process of becoming a law.
Though the appellate court noted that section 4(8) of the 1999 Constitution imbued the judiciary with the powers to review the exercise of legislative functions and determine the constitutionality of acts of the NASS, it said such judicial powers does not negate the principle of separation of powers enshrined in sections 4, 5 and 6 of the Constitution.
While upholding the appeal that was lodged by the NASS, the Justice Bulkachuwa-led panel stressed that a Bill does not become an Act of the NASS until it is assented to by the President pursuant to section 58 of the constitution.
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It maintained that the constitution gave the President the right to the decline his assent to a Bill, following which such document would be returned to the NASS for further legislative action that could result in dumping of the proposed law or an override of the President by two-third majority vote by both chambers of the legislature.
“A court of law has no jurisdiction to decide on a Bill still undergoing legislative process. Such decision becomes null and void since it is not yet a law or an Act of NASS”, Justice Bulkachuwa held, adding that doing otherwise would amount to the court “unwittingly interfering with the doctrine of separation of powers”.
“The court cannot grant an injunction to restrain the legislature from performing its legislative duties. It should, however, be sounded clear that the court has the jurisdiction to strike down any law or Act of the NASS when found to be in contravention of any section of the Constitution”.
The appellate court held that the suit by Accord Party was “an action that was designed to obstruct the legislative powers of the NASS to make law”. It further observed that as at the time the suit was filed before the high court, the NASS had yet to conclude its legislative duty as far as Amendment of the Electoral Act 2018 was concerned.
The appellate court warned that a situation where suits are filed to challenge Bills that are still undergoing the legislative process was capable of disabling the legislature.
