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).
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Gummi represents the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara in the House of Representatives.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu, in his judgment, restrained the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, from further recognising Gummi as the representative of Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.
The judge also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election to fill the vacancy for the constituency within 30 days from the date of the judgment.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that although the judgment 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 chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki, as the first and second plaintiffs.
In the originating summons dated November 28 but filed on November 29, 2024, by Ibrahim Bawa, SAN, the plaintiffs sued Hon. Abubakar Suleiman Gummi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and INEC as first to third defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs set out four questions for determination and sought nine reliefs. They questioned whether, under Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), it was constitutional for Gummi to retain his seat after defecting from the PDP, which sponsored him for the election, to the APC, when there was no division in the party.
One of the reliefs sought was a declaration that it was unconstitutional for the Speaker to refuse or fail to declare Gummi’s seat vacant.
Gummi, through his lawyer, filed a notice of preliminary objection and a counter-affidavit. The lawmaker argued that his decampment was due to the crisis within the PDP.
He claimed that the unresolved internal and external crises, both at the national level and in his constituency, compelled his defection to the APC. Gummi maintained that the crises prevented him from properly representing his constituents or ensuring they benefited from the dividends of democracy within the bounds of the law.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Egwuatu granted all the plaintiffs’ reliefs.
The judge condemned politicians who treat defection as a routine practice, saying:
“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 electorates make their choices based on party manifestos and candidates, and a politician abandons that party to join a rival party without relinquishing the mandate, is legally and morally wrong.
“If a person must decamp, they should not take the mandate of the electorates with them. A politician has no right to transfer votes from one party to another. The law must punish such moves by revoking the benefits bestowed upon the decampee by the electorate. That is what Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution provides. Political prostitution must not be rewarded.
“In total, I resolve all the issues in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants,” Justice Egwuatu said.
The judge ordered that Gummi, having defected from the PDP to the APC before the expiration of the period for which the House was elected, automatically loses his seat as a member of the House of Representatives.
He also restrained Gummi from receiving any salaries, allowances, or other benefits as a member representing the constituency and directed him to refund all monies collected from October 30, 2024, to the date of judgment.
“An order is made directing that evidence of the refund be filed in the registry of this court within 30 days of this judgment,” the judge added.
Justice Egwuatu further awarded a fine of N500,000 in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants.
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