A Federal High Court sitting in Jalingo, capital of Taraba state has stopped a medical panel set up by the state House of Assembly to probe Governor Danbaba Suntai’s health status.
The court today ruled the panel cannot continue to probe the health status of the governor because a case relating to the governor is pending the resolution of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.
Suntai’s ex-parte motion was filed before the court by Alex Izinyon. Mr. Izinyon was represented in court by a lawyer from his firm, Elijah Nyaro.
It would be recalled that the state House of Assembly, led by the speaker, Josiah Sabo Kente had constituted a five-man medical panel woth Professor B.B Shehu as chairman and Dr. Inusa Samaila, Professor Peter Alabi, Dr. Shehu Sule and Dr. Ahmed Kara, Suntai’s personal physician, as members to determine Suntai’s state of health.
The action followed a letter from the State Executive Council to the lawmakers to constitute a medical panel to ascertain the “mental and physical condition of the governor so as to know whether he is capable of steering the affairs of the state.”
Suntai suffered serious injuries when a helicopter he was flying crashed near Yola, the Adamawa State capital on October 25, 2012.
Earlier, the acting governor of the state, Garba Umar, had alleged that some people he called the ‘cabal’ are concocting an impeachment plot against him and Governor Suntai.
Umar alleged, while speaking on BBC Hausa radio, that the cabal is bent on usurping power illegally in Taraba state.
“Since they are saying my boss and I be impeached, it means they are not with him. They are lying; they just want to seize power illegally and there is no law that permits doing that in this country. The constitution must be abided by.
“And I don’t even know what offence I committed that would warrant my impeachment.”
He said that he and Governor Suntai had no misunderstanding but that some cliques are trying to satisfy their own political selfish ambitions by creating mischief where none existed.
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