Court asks for arrest warrant against NILDS DG for ignoring summons

Legislative lawyers representing the Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have petitioned an Abuja Federal High Court to compel the House of Representatives to issue an arrest warrant for Prof. Abubakar Olanrewaju Suleiman, Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS). NILDS is a federal government agency that operates under the National Assembly.

The lawyers allege that Suleiman, while still holding his post, contested the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary in Kwara State without resigning. They seek an order that the House of Representatives arrest him for failing to attend a summons issued by a House committee investigating the matter.

The suit names the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Yusuf Galambi, Chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Library, Research and Documentation, as respondents. ALDRAP’s members include NILDS staff.

Reliefs requested by the plaintiff include a mandamus directing the respondents to exercise their powers under sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution and the House of Representatives Standing Orders, 2023, by issuing an arrest warrant for Suleiman. The warrant would be based on his failure to honour the lawmakers’ summons on 18 June 2026.

The court is also asked to declare that the powers vested in the House of Representatives by sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution include the authority to compel attendance and compliance with lawful summons. Additionally, the plaintiffs request that the court order the respondents to enforce the Constitution and the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act concerning individuals who refuse to appear after being summoned.

Counsel J. J. Lamy, Esq, stated that Suleiman was summoned to appear before the House Committee on Legislative Library, Research and Documentation on 18 June 2026 but did not attend. He further argued that sections 88 and 89 of the Constitution grant the House and its committees the power to summon persons and enforce attendance, a power also supported by Order 19 of the House of Representatives Standing Orders, 2023.

"The respondents possess the constitutional and statutory authority necessary to initiate and issue such a warrant and to ensure compliance with lawful summons," the plaintiff added. "It is in the public interest and in furtherance of the rule of law that the respondents be compelled to discharge their constitutional duties."

ALDRAP has also asked the Abuja Federal High Court to order Suleiman to vacate his office immediately and to issue a perpetual injunction preventing him from continuing to act as NILDS DG. This request follows his alleged participation in the APC Kwara gubernatorial primary without resigning, as directed by President Bola Tinubu in accordance with the Electoral Act.

The association seeks a declaration that Suleiman must resign his appointment by or before 31 March 2026 after announcing his intention to contest the election. It also asks the court to declare that his failure to resign violates the Electoral Act, 2026.

Furthermore, the plaintiff requests that the court declare the Senate President’s and the House Speaker’s failure to appoint an acting DG for NILDS after Suleiman’s participation in the Kwara governorship primary election unlawful, constituting a breach of statutory responsibilities. The court is also asked to compel the Senate President and the House Speaker to appoint an acting DG pending the appointment of a substantive DG for the institution.

Following a request for evidence by the House Committee on Legislative Library, Documentation and Research during an investigative hearing on 18 June 2026, the plaintiff has submitted evidence of Suleiman’s participation in the Kwara APC gubernatorial primary. The evidence includes a letter dated 19 June 2026 addressed to the National Chairman of the APC, demanding a certified true copy of documents proving Suleiman’s membership and participation in the party’s Kwara State governorship primary election on 22 May 2026; a query issued by the NILDS Governing Council dated 2 June 2026, signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly; and newspaper and eyewitness accounts of the primary election.