Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation, has asked the Federal High Court in Abuja to stop the Senate from further investigating the circumstances that prompted the reinstatement of Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Team.

According to court papers seen by TheCable, Malami is arguing that the Senate lacks the competence and legitimacy “to investigate the employment, attendance at work, disengagement, reinstatement and or promotion of a civil servant”.

Malami is believed to have kick-started the series of actions that culminated in Maina’s recall. This was attested to by Winifred Oyo-Ita, Head of Service of the Federation, during a hearing by the House of Representatives into the matter.

But Malami has consistently denied authoring or accenting to any letter requesting or approving the reinstatement of Maina.

Malami’s recent law suit follows the decision of the Senate to begin its own probe into the Maina recall saga.

In the suit, Malami asked the court to declare “that the National Assembly lacks the legislative competence to investigate the employment, attendance at work, disengagement, reinstatement and or promotion of a civil servant which are matters exclusively within the purview of the Federal Civil Service Commission under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria1999 (as amended)”.

Malami maintained that “the power of investigation vested in the national assembly by section 88 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) is limited and such that can only be exercised within the confines of Section 88 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

As the chief law officer and Minister of Justice of the Federation, Malam said he is “bound to ensure compliance … with the express or implied contents of extant Judgements and Orders of competent courts in Nigeria”.

“The defendant (i.e. the Nigerian Senate) cannot constitute itself into a quasi-appellate court, tribunal or panel with a view to reviewing any executive action taken in compliance with the adverse judgment in the said Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/65/2013,” he said.

However, the ex parte motion was stuck out by Justice Binta Murtala Nyako, who went ahead to order the applicant‎ to put the National Assembly on notice as there was no urgency to grant it.

The motion on notice will now be heard on January 15.

Maina is currently wanted by the Police and EFCC over allegations of pension fraud amounting to over N100 billion.

He is believed to have fled to Dubai in 2013, remaining there until last year when he was secretly recalled and reinstated into the civil service.

Following an uproar from the public over the controversial reinstatement, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered that Maina’s sack.

He also ordered the office of the Head of Service to explain in writing how and why Maina was reinstated in the first place.

The explanation had since been submitted to the Presidency but nothing else has been heard of it.

Meanwhile, Maina has released a number of video clips from his hiding place, asking Buhari to provide an appropriate atmosphere to enable him come forward with the real truth behind the pension fraud saga.