Court Upholds Defection Of 27 Lawmakers In Blow To PDP Challenge

The Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has struck out a suit challenging the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The case, instituted by the Labour Party, sought to have the lawmakers’ seats declared vacant over alleged defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel A. Obile, delivered the ruling on Tuesday. Obile cited a recent Supreme Court decision, which he said had already addressed the issue of defection raised in the suit. The judge held that he lacked the jurisdiction to adjudicate on a matter that had been conclusively determined by the apex court. Martins Nwachukwu, an aide to Speaker Martins Amaewhule—one of the principal defendants in the matter, confirmed the court’s decision via a social media post. Counsel for the defendants had urged the court to dismiss the suit, citing a recent Supreme Court judgment. They presented a Certified True Copy of the apex court’s decision, which the defendants said reaffirmed the leadership of the Assembly under Amaewhule and noted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had withdrawn the allegations of defection in a separate case at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Labour Party counsel, Clifford Chukwu, however, argued that the issue of defection remained a “collateral matter” and urged the court to proceed with the case, referencing the body of evidence already before it.