Senator Dino Melaye has sued the House of Representatives and its Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila over the controversial Infectious Disease Control Bill.
Melaye, who shared screenshots of the court papers on Twitter, said he filed the suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja today.
The Herald can report that the bill seeks to repeal the Quarantine Act of 1926 and provide new regulations which Gbajabiamila said would enable Nigeria to adequately manage situations like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gbajabiamila and two other lawmakers, Pascal Obi and Tanko Sununu, are sponsoring the bill.
It passed Second Reading on the floor of the House on Tuesday, April 28, the same day it was introduced.
However, many reps and other Nigerians expressed reservations about some provisions of the bill largely over allegations of infringing on fundamental human rights of Nigerians.
For instance, the bill seeks to grant the police and health officials the right to arrest Nigerians as directed by the NCDC DG without a warrant, TheCable reported.
According to the report, the new bill also mandates the parent or guardian of “every child in Nigeria” to “ensure that the child is vaccinated against infectious diseases such as diphtheria, measles, polio and meningitis”.
“COVID-19 VACCINE: I have just filed a court action against the Speaker and House of Representatives on the wicked bill initiated by Hon Femi Gbajabiamila this morning at the Federal High Court Abuja. We shall overcome. -Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye,” the lawmaker, who represented Kogi West in the 8th Senate, tweeted on Monday.
He added that the Clerk of the House of Representatives had been served with the court process.
See tweet:
COVID-19 VACCINE: I have just filed a court action against the Speaker and House of Representatives on the wicked bill initiated by Hon Femi Gbajabiamila this morning at the Federal High Court Abuja. We shall overcome.
-Distinguished Senator Dino Melaye pic.twitter.com/qilvghpdYM
— Senator Dino Melaye. (SDM) (@dino_melaye) May 4, 2020
Clerk of te House of Representatives has been served court processes of my case filed today. pic.twitter.com/WHQsgQUAYa
— Senator Dino Melaye. (SDM) (@dino_melaye) May 4, 2020
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