JUST IN: COURT DISMISSES SUIT SEEKING REPLACEMENT OF PRO-WIKE LAWMAKERS
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Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a defection petition filed against the 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The lawsuit attempting to replace the 27 MPs on the basis of their purported defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dismissed for a number of reasons.
Justice Lifu ruled on Friday that the Action People’s Party’s (APP) complaint was statute-barred because it was not filed within the 14-day time limit allowed by law.
While the defection was said to have occurred in December last year, the APP filed the complaint on July 12, eight months after the cause of action arose.
Furthermore, Justice Lifu claimed that the case was a terrible abuse of the legal process because the Federal High Court had already adjudicated on other suits involving the purported defection of the same 27 legislators.
The judge, citing prior Federal High Court decisions, stated that the motion for parliamentarians’ replacement had previously been denied owing to a lack of adequate evidence to show the members’ defection.
He notably cited Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja’s July ruling, in which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was barred from declaring MPs’ seats vacant and holding a new election to replace them.
Justice Lifu emphasised that because the ruling had not been set aside or appealed, it remains legally enforceable in terms of defection for the 27 parliamentarians.He went on to say that sitting as an appellate court in the same court’s decision would be a waste of judicial time.
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