A civil society organisation, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, has called on the National Assembly to perish its proposed immunity clause for its leadership.
The group, in a statement on Thursday, said contemplating immunity clause for the Senate President and others at this time means that the lawmakers were simply being lawless.
SERAP was reacting to the recent reported disclosure by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr. Leo Ogor, that the lawmakers were contemplating a constitutional amendment to include a clause that will shield its leadership from criminal prosecution.
Those to enjoy the proposed immunity include the Senate President, his deputy, the Speaker, House of Representatives, his deputy and the Chief Justice of Nigeria.
But, in a statement by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, SERAP called on the National Assembly to immediately halt the process, saying it would be a huge setback in the ongoing campaign for accountability and transparency in governance.
It accused the proponents of the immunity clause of abusing power and embarking on political corruption, adding that they were doing so in breach of public trust.
The statement read in part, “SERAP notes that this initiative by the leaders of the National Assembly is coming at a time countries, like Guatemala, have voted unanimously to strip their presidents of immunity from prosecution for corruption.
“It is a huge setback for transparency and accountability and the rule of law that the same privileged and powerful leaders of parliament that regularly make laws that consign ordinary, powerless Nigerians to prison for even trivial offences, yet again want to establish elite immunity to protect themselves from any consequences for serious crimes of corruption and money laundering: that is the Nigerian justice system in a nutshell. This is called breaking the law.”
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