Federal High Court To Hear Suit Against Defected Rivers Lawmakers On March 18

The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has slated March 18, 2024, for the hearing of a pivotal lawsuit seeking the removal of 27 legislators who switched allegiance from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

These lawmakers, under the leadership of Speaker Martin Amaewhule and staunch supporters of the former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, made their defection amid a political tussle with the current governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

This legal action, initiated by the Rivers State Civil Society Organisations, challenges the legality of the lawmakers’ defection, arguing that it contravenes Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the forfeiture of their legislative seats due to their departure from the party that sponsored their election into the assembly.

Initially scheduled for a recent Monday, the case was postponed due to Justice Stephen Dalyop Pam’s absence, who attended a judges’ conference, leading to the adjournment.

In related legal developments, the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, has approved a motion by a group of Rivers elders, spearheaded by Chief Arabs Sara-Igbe, among others, for substituted service of court documents on the leader of the pro-Wike legislative faction.

This group is challenging the legitimacy of a peace resolution brokered by President Bola Tinubu in December, to reconcile the rift between Governors Wike and Fubara.

They argue that the intervention and its outcomes, which notably included concessions to the pro-Wike faction, were constitutionally unsound and biased against Governor Fubara.

Despite their efforts being dismissed by the Rivers State High Court in January 2024 for lacking jurisdiction, the elders have not relented, appealing the decision.

The Court of Appeal has since expedited the case, setting the next hearing for April 8, 2024.