The National Assembly may be contemplating a constitution amendment in the quest to provide immunity for the heads of the legislative and judicial arms of government to bring them at par with the President and governors, the Vanguard newspaper has reported.

The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Leo Ogor, reportedly dropped the hint, reasoning that “if the head of the executive arm, the President, and his vice should enjoy immunity, the heads of the other two arms of government, the legislature and the judiciary should also benefit from the immunity”.

The Vanguard quoted Ogor as saying that granting immunity to the head of the National Assembly “would reduce distractions and crisis in the National Assembly as well as put a stop to the frequent change of the presiding officers as a result of external influence.”

Potential beneficiaries of the proposed immunity clause amendment are the Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, his deputy and the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN.

Senate President Bukola Saraki, who does not have immunity under the present constitution, was recently docked by the Code of Conduct Tribunal, CCT, for alleged false asset declaration.

Saraki’s trial is seen in some quarters, particularly among his colleagues who have passed a vote of confidence on him, as being politically motivated because of his insistence on contesting the position of Senate President in spite of the opposition of his party, the All Progressive Congress, APC.