Court restrains Reps over Anyim’s Centenary City probe

Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja has restrained the House of Representatives and security agencies from acting on the recommendations of the House Committee on FCT to probe alleged fraud discovered in the Centenary City Project, Abuja involving former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim.

Justice U. A Musale had granted the interim restraining order based on an ex-parte application filed by Anyim.The Committee report indicting Anyim was said to have been submitted to the House of Representatives by its committee on FCT headed by Honourable Herman Hembe, and was consequently adopted by the House on March 16.

After listening to counsel to Anyim, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), Justice Musale ordered that the House of Representatives and security agencies should not act on the House Committee’s report, pending the hearing and determination of Anyim’s motion on notice, seeking to make the restraining order to last till the determination of the substantive suit.

The order of the court read: “An order of interim injunction restraining the Respondents by themselves, or through any of the security agencies, privies or agents, from acting on the report of the House Committee on FCT, which was adopted on the floor of the whole House of Representatives on the Thursday, 16th March, 2017, pending the hearing and determination of the motion notice.”

In an affidavit deposed to by the Litigation Secretary in Ozekhome’s law firm, Mr. Usman Salihu, some of the grounds for Anyim’s objection to the House Committee’s report, include that he, Anyim a former President of the Senate, was wrongly invited by the Clerk of the House Committee on FCT rather than the Clerk of the National Assembly.

Salihu also stated that it was brought to the attention of the House Committee that its counterpart in the Senate had conducted its probe and issued a report which not only exonerated the applicant of any wrongdoing, but also extolled his virtues and praised his efforts among others.
The case has been adjourned till May 30 for hearing.