The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Rep. Abubakar Gummi for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gummi represents the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara in the House of Representatives
Egwuatu also made an order directing the Independent National Electoral Commission. (INEC) to conduct a fresh election to fill the vacancy for the constituency within 30 days from the day of the judgment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that though the judgement was delivered on Thursday, the certified true copy was sighted on Friday.
The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1803/2024, was filed by the PDP and its state’s Chairman, Jamilu Jibo Magayaki, as 1st and 2nd plaintiffs.
The duo, in the originating summons dated Nov. 28 but filed Nov. 29, 2024, by Ibrahim Bawa, SAN, had sued Hon. Abubakar Suleiman Gummi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and INEC as 1st to 3rd defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs had set out four questions for determination and sought nine reliefs.
They asked whether, having regard to the provision of Section 68 (1) (9) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it was not unconstitutional for Gummi’s to retain his seat as a member in the house.
They said he defected from PDP, which sponsored him for the election to Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency, to APC, when there was no crises within the party.
The reliefs sought was a declaration that it was unconstitutional for the speaker to refuse/fail to declare Gummi’s seat vacant
In the judgment , Justice Egwuatu granted all the plaintiffs’ reliefs.
The judge condemned the attitude of some politicians who see defection as a normal practice.
“Before I take my fingers off the keyboard, let me just add that politicians should respect the wishes of the electorates that elected them into office.
“A situation where the electorates have made their choices between different political parties and their candidates based on the manifestos and marketability of such a political party, it is legally and morally wrong for such a politician to abandon the party under which platform he or she was elected into office and move to a rival party without relinquishing the mandate of his or her former party.
“If a person must decamp, don’t decamp with the mandate of the electorates.
In total, I resolve all the issues in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants,” Justice Egwuatu said.
The judge, therefore, ordered that Gummi having defected from PDP to APC “before the expiration of the period the house was elected, automatically loses his seat as a member of the House of Representatives.
He made an order restraining Gummi from further receiving monies as salaries, allowances or whatsoever called in his capacity as a member representing the constituency.
He also made an order directing the lawmaker to refund to the Federal Government all monies collected as salaries, allowances or whatsoever called as a member representing the constituency from Oct. 30, 2024, to the date of judgment.
“An order is made directing that the evidence of the refund of all monies collected as salaries, allowances or howsoever called be filed in the registry of this court within 30 days of
Justice Egwuatu consequently awarded a fine of N500,000 in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants
