Senate gets 48 hour ultimatum to terminate Ndume's suspension

- The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER) describes the Senate’s suspension of Senator Ndume as a violation of the Nigerian constitution

- CASER executive director, Frank Tietie, says Ndume’s suspension amounts to crass intolerance on the part of majority of Nigerian senators

- Similarly, rights lawyer, Femi Falana, charged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the reign of impunity of the National Assembly

The Citizens Advocacy for Social and Economic Rights (CASER), has threatened to drag the Nigerian Senate to court if it fails within 48 hours to rescind the suspension of Senator Ndume.

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The executive director of the organisation, Frank Tietie, who gave the ultimatum on Thursday, March 30 in Abuja, described the suspension of Ndume as a violation of Section 39 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which guarantees the right to hold an opinion and to express same, Daily Trust reports.

He said: “It amounts to crass intolerance on the part of majority of Nigerian senators whose many governmental sins and political foibles have been many times overlooked by Nigerians, yet the same senators have chosen to come down hard on one of their own for exercising his right to hold an opinion to which he is entitled under the Constitution to so freely express.

"CASER therefore posits that the action of the Nigerian Senators is a misapplication of Section 21 of the Legislative Houses Powers and Privileges Act. The use of suspension as a means of punishing a perceived erring legislative house member is a very serious matter since it touches on the right of a citizen in a participative democracy to be represented in governance through the National Assembly.

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“The senators ought to have given more consideration to the interest of the people of Borno South by choosing to simply express their reservations on the matter rather than moving to deprive the people of their right to be represented by suspending the senator representing a people of a senatorial district."

Similarly, NAIJ.com reported that rights lawyer, Femi Falana charged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop the reign of impunity of the National Assembly following a series of controversial moves made lately.

Falana in a statement on Wednesday, March 29 said the refusal of the Senate to screen the 27 resident electoral commissioners due to Buhari’s decision to keep Ibrahim Magu as acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was an act of impunity.

Below is a NAIJ.com video of a man calling for a change of leadership in Nigeria.