DEFECTION: Court orders 37 defected PDP members to resign

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday asked 37 former members of PDP to resign their seats at the House of Representatives for defecting to the opposition APC.

37 Defected PDP members

The court perpetually restrained the legislators from effecting any leadership change in the assembly.

The court was delivering judgment in a matter brought by PDP asking that the legislators should not be allowed to take part in the activities of the assembly.

The presiding judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola, held that the lawmakers no longer had any business, morally and legally in the assembly.

He said they should honourably resign from their seats as members of the House of Representatives, having moved to another political party while their tenure had yet to expire.

“Having perused the arguments of counsel and the constitutional provisions, it is clear and unambiguous that the defendants were sponsored by the PDP and won the election on its platform.

“It is also the court’s opinion that their tenure has not expired and there is no division in the PDP.

“The defendants are, therefore, not competent to vote or contribute to any proceedings in the House of Representatives.

“An order of perpetual injunction is, hereby, ordered, restraining them from altering or attempting to change the leadership of the House of Reps,’’ Ademola said.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the PDP had on January 7 instituted a suit seeking to restrain the House of Representatives from altering the composition of its leadership.

The party had commenced the action following the defection of 37 legislators, who won elections on its platform, to the opposition APC.

Mr. Yunus Usman (SAN), PDP’s counsel, had, while arguing the originating summons, faulted the cross-carpeting of the lawmakers, saying that the legislators did so during the dependency of a judgment.

He argued that by virtue of the October 2013 judgment of Justice Evoh Chukwu, which said there was no division in PDP, the matter had been laid to rest.

Usman further submitted that by virtue of the provision of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian constitution, as amended, the lawmakers ought to have vacated their seats immediately.

Mr. Mahmoud Magaji (SAN), counsel to the defendants, had in his submission, argued that it was wrong for the PDP to have sought to restrain its former members from activities of the assembly for defecting.

Other defence counsel, Mr Niyi Akintola, SAN, Mr Sebastian Hon, SAN, Mr James Ocholi,SAN, Mr Abiodun Owonikoko, SAN, and Jibril Okutepa, SAN, had prayed the court to dismiss the suit.

DEFECTION: Court orders 37 defected PDP members to resign

DEFECTION: Court strikes 79 lawmakers" suit against PDP

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday struck out a suit filed by 79 lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

APC members Muniru Hakeem (left), Babhatunde Adewale, newly defected members Ahmed Dogara and Emmanuel Jime and other members Kamil Akinlabi John Dyegh and Saheed Akinade Fijabi, celebrating the defection of PDP Reps at the National Assembly Abuja…yesterday. Photo Abayomi Fayese

The plaintiffs, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, 78 Senators and Reps members, had prayed the court for an order restraining the defendants from declaring their seats vacant following their defection.

Joined as co-defendants in the suit, filed in September 2013, are the PDP National Chairman, Senate President, House of Reps Speaker, the PDP and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Delivering judgment, Justice Ahmed Mohammed held that the suit was an `academic exercise’ which the court would not adjudicate upon.

He said that the PDP, being the fourth defendant in the instant case, had similarly filed another suit before him asking the court to declare the seats of the defected legislators vacant.

“In the final analysis, the lawmakers’ suit is based on the threat of declaring their seats vacant, and the PDP has submitted itself to the court pursuant to Section 68 (2) of the 1999 Constitution.

“The PDP cannot declare their seats vacant, having submitted itself in other pending suits seeking to compel the Senate President and Speaker, House of Reps to declare the seats vacant.

“This suit is an academic exercise. It has no life of its own, so there is no adjudication and is, hereby, struck out,’’Mohammed said.

Justice Mohammed had, before delivering the judgment, also struck out an application by the plaintiffs seeking an indefinite adjournment of proceedings in the case when it was slated for judgment.

The judge frowned at the timing of the plaintiffs’ application, especially coming after hearing had been concluded and the matter was reserved for judgment.

“I cannot find any reason why the application was not brought before the matter was reserved for judgment.

“In the final analysis, I find no merit in the application and, hereby, dismiss it,’’ Mohammed ordered.

Mr Joe Gadzama, SAN, counsel to the respondents, had opposed the plaintiff’s application, arguing that the

application was a plot to arrest the judgment of the court.

He had prayed the court to throw out the application and deliver its judgment.

Gadzama had, also via a preliminary objection, asked the court to strike out the plaintiffs’ originating summons for “lacking in merit and locus standi to initiate the case.

He had argued that it was a few individuals who defected, describing the circumstances of their defection as “friction,

fiction and fraction due to mere in-house disagreement in the PDP”.

“In suit FHC/ABJ/CS/605/2013, (PDP and others against INEC and others), Justice Evoh Chukwu of the Federal High Court Abuja, on Oct. 18, 2013, decided there was no division or faction in PDP.

“This suit is our magic wand and we, therefore, urge the court to dismiss the plaintiffs’ suit,’’ Gadzama had argued. (0)

DEFECTION: Court strikes 79 lawmakers" suit against PDP