The
House of Representatives;
its Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal; and Deputy Speaker, Emeka Ihedioha, on
Tuesday headed for the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, to challenge a
Federal High Court judgment which restrained lawmakers who defected to
the All Progressives Congress from altering the leadership of the House.
In a
notice of appeal
filed by their lawyer, Mahmud Magaji, SAN, the lawmakers asked the
appellate court to set aside the judgment. Justice Adeniyi Ademola had
in his judgment on Monday in the suit with number FHC/ABJ/CS/4/14, which
was filed by the Peoples Democratic Party against the House of
Representatives, its principal officers and the 42 defected lawmakers,
held that there was no division in the PDP to qualify the legislators to
defect and continue to retain their seats in line with the provisions
of section 68 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.
The section allows for defection of members of the National Assembly
in situations where there is division in thier political parties.
Challenging the judgment, the appellants argued that the decision of the
Abuja FHC was “perverse,” and was not supported by the reliefs sought
by the PDP.
They insisted that the trial judge “erred in law when he granted
reliefs not sought by the plaintiff,” adding that the judgment “is
against the weight of evidence.”
They stressed that Justice Ademola erred when he granted the reliefs
sought by the plaintiff and went further to hold that the respondents
ought to have resigned their seats as members of the House of
Representatives.
Furthermore, the appellants argued that the judge was wrong when he
held that the reliefs sought by the PDP in the suit were justiciable and
proceeded to grant the reliefs without considering the provision of
section 30 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act Cap L12
Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
The section provides that “neither the President nor the Speaker, as
the case may be, of a legislative house shall be subjected to the
jurisdiction of any court in respect of the exercise of any power
conferred on or vested in him by or under this Act or the standing
orders of the Constitution.”