A Federal High Court in Abuja has struck out a suit that sought the sack of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara ,and 52 other National Assembly members who defected last year from the political parties on whose platforms they got to office.
The suit was filed by a civil society group, the Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP).
In a judgment yesterday, Justice Okon Abang held that despite the plaintiff’s noble intention, his court lacked the jurisdiction to determine the merit of its claims in the case because the plaintiff lacked the locus standi (the legal capacity) to initiate the suit.
Justice Abang was of the view that the fact that the plaintiff is a registered corporate body under the Company and Allied Matters Act was insufficient to clothe with the right to sue on behalf of the public.
The judge said the plaintiff’s failure to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Action Democratic Congress (ADC) – (affected by the defecting lawmakers’s action) – was fatal to the suit.
He held that the plaintiff did not place anything before the court to show that the constituencies, represented by the defecting lawmakers, are aware of the suit or that the plaintiff has a special interest far above that of the general public.
Justice Abang equally held that the plaintiff, in instituting the action, failed to involve necessary parties, such as the political parties affected by the defection.
The judge noted that the plaintiff failed to obtain the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) that would conferred it with the necessary powers to institute the suit.
He also noted that not being the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the political parties affected by the legislators’ defection, a member of any of the political parties, a member of the constituencies of the defecting lawmakers or a registered voter in the lawmakers’ constituencies, the plaintiff lacked the legal capacity to file the suit.
Justice Abang upheld the argument by one of the lawyers to the defendants, Mahmoud Magaji (SAN), to the effect that LEDAP was not a competent plaintiff.
The judge held that, since the plaintiff was without the requisite locus standi, the court could not invoke Section 68 of the 1999 Constitution against the defecting lawmakers and declare their seats vacant, as prayed by the plaintiff.
The judge said: “I am persuaded to hold that, though the plaintiff has a good case, promoting the rule of law, regulating the unlawful defection of legislators, amongst others, the plaintiff has no locus standi to institute the suit.
“I have no jurisdiction to determine the case on its merit because the plaintiff, though has a good case, lacks locus standi. The plaintiff’s case is incompetent. It is struck out.”
Justice Abang noted in passing that the defecting legislators violated the Constitution and ought to have vacated their seats, since there was no division in any of the political parties, as envisaged by the Constitution to legitimise their defection.
The judge distinguished the defection of the former Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, from those of Saraki, Dogara and 51 others.
Justice Abang held that Akpabio did not defect in the manner of Saraki, Dogara and others, but moved from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) ”out of frustration of being expelled by the PDP through a letter dated August 2, 2018″.
He was of the view that, having been expelled from the PDP, as claimed by Akpabio, which the plaintiff did not deny, he (Akpabio) was at liberty to join another political party of his choice.
The judge said for the court to declare Akpabio’s seat vacant, as prayed by the plaintiff, would amount to punishing him for exercising his right to freedom of association guaranteed by Section 40 of the Constitution.