The Court of Appeal in Abuja has set aside the October 30, 2025, judgment by Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court, Abuja, sacking House of Representatives member Abubakar Suleiman Gummi.
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In a unanimous judgment on Friday, a three-member panel of the appellate court held that the trial court was wrong to have declared Gummi’s seat vacant on the grounds that he decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform he contested the election, to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gummi, representing the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara in the House of Representatives, had decamped from the PDP to the APC, citing various reasons, including the leadership crisis in the party, particularly at the national level.
He said the crisis had caused a situation where he could no longer properly represent his constituents or ensure that they all benefited from the shared distribution of democracy’s dividends within the bounds of the law, without undue interference from anyone or anything.
Delivering the Court of Appeal’s judgment on Friday, Justice Oyebiola Oyewumi held, among other things, that the appellant (Gummi) has an inherent right, in the face of the notorious state of affairs in the PDP, to abandon the party.
Justice Oyewumi upheld the reasons given by Gummi in support of his decision to decamp from the PDP.
The judge further held that a party member has the right to seek a better platform to contest an election if his or her present platform is threatened.
She proceeded to allow the appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1606/2025, and set aside the judgment of the trial court delivered on October 30, 2025, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1803/2024, filed by the PDP and the Zamfara State Chairman of the party, Jamilu Jibomagayaki.
Justice Oyewumi awarded costs of N1 million against the PDP and Jibomagayaki and in favour of Gummi.
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