House of Representatives Thursday resolved to probe the activities of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property to ensure that it is in tandem with the law and conforms to best practices.
The panel is alleged to be interfering with the activities of the Code of Conduct tribunal.
The resolution of the Green Chamber was sequel to the passage of a motion sponsored by Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP, Rivers)
Recall that the SPIP recently filed an ex-parte motion through a legal practitioner, Festus Keyamo asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to freeze all hidden assets belonging to the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Chinda, while moving the motion noted the inauguration of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel (SPIP) pursuant to the Public Property Special Provisions Act, CAP R4 LFN, 2004 otherwise known as Decree No 3, 1984 with the commencement date of 31st December 1983.
“The said panel is alleged to have received petitions from Nigerians and its mode of operation is to proceed to invite citizens to fill asset declaration form which is by law the exclusive mandate of the Code of Conduct Bureau under the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act CAP T 15, LFN 2004”.
“Following the activities of the Panel, the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation has received several complaints from the general public on the need to take an in-depth look at the law viz-a viz the various anti-corruption agencies that are now established, particularly the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal”, the lawmaker said.
Chinda further said Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution captures the Code of Conduct Bureau as a federal executive body and that the 5th Schedule to the 1999 Constitution provides greater details of the act amounting to a breach of the code of conduct of public officers and established the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
His words: “Part II of the Schedule defined a public officer in the context of the constitutional provision.
“The Public Property (Special Provision) Act codified as CAP R4 LFN, 2004 predates the Code of Conduct and Tribunal Act CAP T15 LFN 2004, whereas the Act commenced 31st Dec, 1983, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act commenced on 1st January, 19991, (8 years later).
“The Public Property (Special Provision) Act CAP R4 LFN 2004 is a spent law by virtue of the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, CAP T15 LFN 2004, the functions specified by the Act to be performed through panels established by the President are now performed by the Code of Conduct Tribunal which serves as a special court headed by a qualified Judge of a superior court of record in Nigeria to try the offences regarding the breach of the Code of the conduct of public officers. Beside the Code of Conduct Act being a newer law on the subject matter, has made specific provisions on the matter.
“It is a trite law that the court would construe a later act as repealing an earlier one if the two provisions cannot stand together or if they both make the same provisions dealing with a similar subject matter as established in Trade Bank Plc Vs. Lagos Island Local Govt (2003) FWLR (Pt 161) 1734”, Chinda added.
According to him, “there cannot be two parallel agencies of government no matter the manner of operation undertaking the same functions in whatever guise or form.
“This more so where the functions are so similar that the public are meant to go through repeated processes and procedures which may infringe on their rights and give rise to series of litigation and the consequential loss of revenue both in overheads and the execution of awards in the damages”.
“Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP) ought not to have been set up in view of the existence of such institutions as the EFCC, ICPC and especially the Code of Conduct Bureau and the Code of Conduct Tribunal both created by law and supported by the 1999 constitution.
“Mindful that the Code of Conduct Tribunal is a special court whose Chairman is a qualified Judge of a superior court of record dealing with matters related to the subject whereas the Public Property (Special Provision) Act, CAP R4, LFN, 2004 gives jurisdiction to the Federal High Court under Section 2(2)b which is not only inconsistent with the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act but inconsistent with section 251 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which did not include the code of conduct matters under the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court – Trade Bank plc Vs Lagos Island Local Govt (2003)”, the lawmaker said.
He added that there are economic implications of setting up multiple agencies with its ravaging effects on the revenue of government.
Speaker Yakubu Dogara in his ruling said the House will set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the modus operandi and legality of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel (SPIP).