Hameed Ali, the comptroller-general of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, has written a letter to the National Assembly that he would not be able to appear before the Senate on March 22, 2017 as scheduled.
Ali who was to appear before the Senate in an official uniform of the customs service said he is acting on a legal advice he received from Abubakar Malami, the federal attorney general and minister of justice, asking all parties involved with the Senate’s invitation to stay action pending the determination of an originating summons filed by one Mohammed Ibrahim.
A source at the headquarters of the Customs Service said an official letter had been despatched to the National Assembly over the legal advice.
A legal practitioner has asked the Federal High Court Abuja to restrain the National Assembly from compelling the Comptroller General of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (rtd.) to wear uniform in the performance of his duties.
The suit, filed filed this week, named Ali, the NCS, the National Assembly, the Senate and the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as first to fifth defendants.
The plaintiff, Mohammed Ibrahim is seeking for a court declaration that Ali’s appointment as Customs boss cannot be subject to the provisions of Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA) or any other law.
A declaration that Ali who is not a commissioned officer of the NCS is not mandated by law to wear uniform and that the oversight functions of the National Assembly does not extend to compelling and mandating him to appear before it in uniform.
The plaintiff is also asking for an order of perpetual injunction restraining both the NASS and the Senate from compelling Ali to wear uniform in the performance of his duties.
Ali Prays At Aso Rock
The Cable reports that after observing his prayers at the presidential villa mosque on Tuesday afternoon, he told journalists, “The case is in court already. Somebody has sued us. It is subjudice. I have gotten my writ of summons and they said status quo should remain ante which means nothing moves until the court makes a pronouncement.”
“A private individual sued all of us, he wants an interpretation of the section that is in contention. I don’t want to talk so that I am not held in contempt of court,” the customs boss said.
He then rushed out of the villa on foot using the security gate used by service chiefs.
Senate Walks Ali Out Over Defiance
The Nigerian Senate, on Thursday, March 16, 2017 sent away, Colonel Ali for failing to appear before it wearing customs uniform as earlier directed by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly.
The senators in a voice vote ordered the customs boss, a retired army colonel, to reappear before the legislative arm in customs uniform next Wednesday [March 22, 2017].
Ali, who appeared in a white caftan, had told the senators that no law makes it compulsory for him to wear customs uniform.
This angered the senators, with some of them declaring the reply as derogatory and unacceptable.
They cited sections 7, 8 and 10 of the Customs Act which state that customs share the same privileges with police and other security institutions.
Senator N’Allah who quoted Section 10 of the Customs Act, among other sections, said the section was clear about punishment for unlawful behaviour of any officer, “including any person who assumes the name, designation or character of an officer.
“The Act further states that the power to prosecute is that of executive and certain officers including CG has that power.
“This implies that your position is statutory, meaning you must conform to the Act.
“Besides, wearing uniform is anchored in the Constitution.
On the C-G’s excuse that he was seeking legal advice on the insistence of the senate that he should wear uniform, the deputy leader of the senate said the C-G ought to have sought legal advice before deciding not to wear uniform.
He said the senate, as the highest law making institution, would not allow anybody to ridicule it, even though it remains supportive of President Muhammadu Buhari’s good intentions for the country.
‘Ken Saro-Wiwa Killer’
One of President Muhammadu Buhari’s first appointments was that of naming a member of the extra-judicial panel that sentenced Ken Saro-Wiwa to death, Colonel Hameed Ali as head of the Nigeria Customs Service in August 2015.
Colonel Ali was military administrator of Kaduna State from 1996 to 1998 under the despotic regime of the late General Sani Abacha.
Reacting to the cold-blooded murder of Ken Saro-Wiwa and 8 other Ogoni indigenes, Col. Ali said he had no regrets over his role in the judicial process that led to Saro Wiwa’s execution.
In November 2015, Colonel Ali ordered the impounding of a sculpture created as a memorial to Ken Saro-Wiwa, which had been sent as a gift to mark the 20th anniversary of their execution by the military government.
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| Martin LeSanto-Smith
Additional reports by PR Nigeria.
