Again, court declines to stop deliberation on Infectious Diseases Bill

*Fixes June 1 for hearing of main suit

Justice Ijeoma Ojukwu of the Federal High Court, Abuja has again declined to restrain the House of Representatives from further deliberations on the controversial Infectious Disease Bill.

Her refusal on Wednesday to make an order restraining the respondents was the failure of the plaintiff to serve court processes on the respondents as ordered by the court last week.

The judge had last week ordered the plaintiff to put the respondents on notice, adding that the respondents must appear in court on May 20, to show cause why further proceedings in the bill should not be halted.

The respondents are the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, clerk of the National Assembly, clerk of the House of Representatives, attorney general of the federation and minister of justice, and the inspector general of police.

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) had on May 4, in originating summons challenged the Infectious Diseases Bill in court on the grounds that the bill if allowed will breach his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the constitution.

He also filed a motion ex- parte dated May 13, wherein he prayed the court for an interim order, directing parties in the suit to maintain status quo ante belum, pending the hearing and determination of the application for the enforcement of his fundamental rights suit.

However, the court in a short ruling last week directed the plaintiff to put the respondents on notice.

When the matter came up on Wednesday, the clerks of both the National Assembly and the House of Representatives as well as the justice minister were absent in court and we’re not represented by their lawyers.

However, a lawyer, Mr. Kayode Ajulo, who announced appearance for the speaker told the court that Gbajabiamila was yet to be served with any processes or court order in respect of the suit.

Reacting, Melaye’s lawyer, Mr. Nkemakolam Okoro, urged the court to order parties to maintain the status quo in order to protect the subject matter and prevent a situation of foisting a fait accompli on the court.

In refusing this request however, Justice Ojukwu stated that her order of last week summoning the respondents to show cause why they should not be restrained from taking further steps in the Infectious Disease Bill, was predicated on the service of all the respondents with the required court documents.

“Since the condition precedent has not been met, I would rather hold that the matter proceeds to hearing,” the judge ruled.

While ordering that the speaker be served through his lawyer, Ajulo, Justice Ojukwu accordingly adjourned till June 1 for hearing in the main suit.

Melaye, who is currently challenging the election of Senator Smart Adeyemi at the Kogi state National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, in the main suit is asking the court to intervene by striking out certain sections of the proposed bill which he claimed if passed would breach his fundamental human rights as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

According to the applicant, Sections 3(8),5(3),6,8,13,15,16,17,19,23,30 and 47 of the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill, 2020, are in breach and or are likely to breach his fundamental rights as provided for in Sections 33, 34,35,37,38 and 40 of the constitution.

He further averred that the bill is in breach of Articles 4, 6,7,10,11,12 and 14 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, 2004, Articles 2(3),7,8,9,12,17,21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,1976 as well as Articles 3,5,8,9,10,12,13,17 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,1948.

“Except by the intervention of this court, through this application for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the applicant, the fundamental rights of the applicant would be breached if the offending provisions of the bill are not deleted before the passage of the bill by the National Assembly,” he told the court.

Melaye added that the said bill passed the first and second reading at the House of Representative on April 28, with unimaginable speed, despite the lockdown and no known emergency which its provisions are intended to cure, in view of the fact that the federal government is already relaxing the lockdown.

“That I know as a matter of fact, that most of the provisions of the said bill constitute a flagrant breach of my fundamental rights and or, are likely to breach my fundamental rights.

“That I know as a matter of fact that Section 3(8) of the bill which empowers the director-general of the National Center for Disease Control by himself or any officer under him or a police officer on his direction, to enter into any premises or gathering of people in an area declared by the President as a public health restricted zone, without a warrant, is clearly in breach of my fundamental rights to freedom of assembly and right to liberty of my human person,” Melaye claimed among others  in his affidavit supporting the suit.