Abuja — The House of Representatives yesterday voted against a motion that sought to stop Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir from entering Nigeria due to the warrant of arrest placed on him by the International Criminal Court at The Hague last March. Al-Bashir is wanted for alleged crime against humanity.

President Al-Bashir was earlier billed to attend a meeting of the African Union's Peace and Security Council on Darfur in Abuja on Thursday. However, the spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Mr. Ayo Olukanni confirmed that the Sudanese President al-Bashir would not attend the meeting. In an interview with Daily Trust, he said the country's Vice President, Ali Osman Taha will represent his embattled president.

About 15 heads of African states are expected to meet in Abuja to examine the report on the Darfur written by a high-level AU panel chaired by South Africa's former president Thabo Mbeki.

Moving the motion on Al-Bashir, Rep Halims Agoda, said "this is a very serious issue, and I seek the House to regard this as a matter of urgent public importance. Nigeria is a signatory of the treaty of the United Nations which formed the ICC", and we cannot be seen to work against the very convention we signed by allowing such a man to put his foot on our soil, if we would not affect the international warrant of arrest on him".

The Deputy Speaker, Bayero Nafada, who was the presiding officer at yesterday's plenary, asked if the motion should be postponed till today, but eventually asked him to continue with the motion.

When the motion was subjected to a voice count on whether it should be debated or not, those who opposed it were in the majority.