The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has thrown out the order made by the High Court of Rivers State taking away the seats of 25 members of the House of Assembly, who allegedly defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and from further parading themselves as members of the Assembly and conducting legislative businesses.
The 25 are loyalists of former Governor Nyesom Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
As part of the unanimous judgement on Thursday, July 4, Justice Olukayode-Bada pronounced: “The trial court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit of the respondents and there must be an existence of real urgency and not self-induced urgency in granting an ex parte.
“The trial court ought to have listened to both sides before coming to a decision prejudicial to the appellants.”
The three-member panel of the appellate court held that the Rivers State High Court lacked the power and jurisdiction to hear the case that bordered on whether or not the seats of the lawmakers, who allegedly defected, were vacant or their terms had ceased.
According to the Court of Appeal, by the provision of Section 273(3) of the Constitution, only the Federal High Court possessed the jurisdiction to determine whether or not the seat of a lawmaker had become vacant or his term of office ceased.
Justice Jimi Bada held that granting the far reaching order restraining the lawmakers from further acting as members of the Assembly without hearing from the appellants amounted to a denial of their right to a fair hearing.
The judgement followed the appeal filed by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others, with Victor Oko Jumbo (Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly) as respondent.
Other members of the Court of Appeal panel, Justice Hamma Barka and Bilikisu Aliyu agreed with the lead judgement.
APC DIVIDED OVER RULING
Meanwhile, the appellate court judgment has divided the Rivers chapter of APC.
Reacting on Thursday, the Rivers State APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Chief Tony Okocha, said the Appeal Court verdict meant that the pro-Wike lawmakers remained in charge of the State House of Assembly.
However, the factional camp loyal to the former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, expressed a different opinion.
Okocha, an ally of Wike, said: “The grey areas that have led Rivers into a litany of litigation have been sorted out. Justice was served. The reasoning adduced by the venerated Justice of the Court of Appeal, under which stood the bedrock of their unanimous decision, is very sound and unimpeachable.”
However, pro-Amaechi APC Publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju, said in a statement that the judgment did not change the fact that the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers defected from the PDP to the APC.
Nwauju said, “The fact that the Court of Appeal has taken a decision one way or the other pooh-poohs the fact that while awaiting the decision of this court, the madness that took place on the 25th of June 2024 in the name of a protest for which an improvised explosive device was detonated, was ab initio infantile, illogical and grossly irresponsible.
“Finally, today’s ruling does not vitiate the fact that the 27 Assemblymen did defect from the PDP to the APC.”
