Lawyers clash at S/Court

The Counsels representing both Anti and Pro – Tyler Lawmakers clashed at the Supreme Court on Monday, 22 August, when they appeared before Associate Justice Jamesetta Wolokolie, where law and politics were used to defend the two different groups.

Chamber Justice Wolokolie said she will review files in the case to make determination as to whether to issue an alternative writ of prohibition following lawyers’ arguments that grew out of Mr. Tyler’s request for prohibition against his colleagues’ action to hold separate sessions in the House of Representatives.

In their argument, the Pro – Tyler counsels, including Cllr. Johnny Momoh, maintained that there was no law in the rules of the House of Representatives or the Liberian Constitution that call for the Speaker to recuse himself, rather, claiming that the action of the anti –Tyler Lawmakers was just an attempt to remove Speaker Alex Tyler as the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in the name of demanding

recusal.

Speaker Tyler’s counsel indicated that the Constitution provides that the Speaker is the only presiding officer of the House and no other person – thus describing the action of the other side to hold parallel session as illegal.

But in a counter-argument, the counsels for the Anti-Tyler bloc, including Cllr. Arthur T. Johnson, contended that the issue raised by the “majority bloc” was purely political, demanding the Third in Command to recuse himself so as to have ample time to defend himself in court. Despite their persistent call on the Speaker, the Ant- Tyler counsels said he has refused to heed to the call of his colleagues at the Lower House.

A group of representatives claiming to be in the majority has been demanding Speaker Tyler’s recusal as presiding officer until he’s exonerated in a bribery indictment at the Criminal Court “C” that sparked out of a Global Witness report on alleged bribery scandal.

Speaker Tyler, former ruling Unity Party Chairman H. Varney G. Sherman, U.K. mining firm- Sable Mining Africa, Mr. Ernest C.B. Jones and Nigerian national, Chris Onanuga, were indicted after Global Witness claimed that Sable Mining paid bribes in the tune of over US$950,000 to have mining laws changed in its favor to be awarded the Wologizi Mountain mine contract.-Edited by George Barpeen