Politicians, lawyers kick against immunity for NASS officials

Politicians and other stakeholders on governance in the country on Wednesday opposed the proposal for immunity to presiding officers of the National Assembly and the Chief Judge of the Federation (CJN).
In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, they said that such plan was anti-people.
Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, had proposed Constitution amendment to confer immunity to the President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
Mr Festus Keyamo, a lawyer, and a Rights activist, condemned the proposal and described it as political.
“It is a plan that is anti-people; it’s a plan that is not in tune with the aspirations of Nigerians; it’s a plan that elicits eminent reaction to the sentiments of the moment,” he said, adding that it was not a law or move that would benefit Nigerians.
According to him, the proposal was borne out of the ongoing trial of certain persons.
Keyamo said that the proposal was purely political and not one that was patriotic, and therefore urged Nigerians to reject it.
The National Chairman of the Progressive Action Council (PAC), Chief Charles Nwodo, who also condemned the proposal, said that every criminal case should be answered when it was committed.
“The beauty of democracy is the rule of law which rates all equal before the law.
“Those former governors with high level of corruption allegation are today walking on red carpets uninterrupted.
“Why build another set of immune army of politicians that would, in a short, time transform themselves from one immunity position to another,“ he said.
The National Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), Dr Yunusa Tanko, said that immunity would give room for elected government officials to loot public treasury with impunity without fear of prosecution.
“As long as there is immunity, corruption will never end,” Tanko said.
He said that what the country needed was stiffer penalties to be enforced on every criminal tendency or betrayal of public trust by government functionaries.
However, the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos state, Mr Olatunji Shelle, believed that presiding officers of the legislature needed to be covered by immunity.
“Being the Senate President or the Speaker should be a form of natural immunity for the occupiers of the offices.
“How did we allow them to emerge if they are not fit to be? The office should be respected,” Shelle said.
Mr Austin Nnorom, Executive Secretary, South West Chapter of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), said that the speaker of the house and the president of the senate needed to be granted immunity.
“Recent occurrences have clearly shown that there is a need to give immunity to the speaker of the house and the senate president,” Nnorom said, stressing that it check distractions at the national assembly. (NAN)