Court Declares The Defection Of Saraki, Dogara, 51 Others In The National Assembly To Other Political Parties As Unlawful

The Federal High Court has declared as unlawful the defection of 53 lawmakers in the National Assembly to other political parties. Delivering the judgment today, Justice Okon Abang held that based on the judgment of the Supreme Court, which gave reasons that would allow for defection, the lawmakers did not meet that requirement.

The judgment followed a suit filed by the Legal Defence Assistance Project (LEDAP), challenging the defection of the Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara and 51 other lawmakers and Senator Godswill Akpabio.

LEDAP had asked the court to order the lawmakers to vacate their seats in the National Assembly and return all salaries and allowances earned since their defection, arguing that the lawmakers defected from their political parties for selfish reasons other than division in their parties as prescribed by law.

But in the case of Senator Godswill Akpabio, Justice Abang held that he did not violate the law because he neither decamped nor defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the facts before the court.

The court had on Monday, granted leave to the senator to file an application challenging the suit by LEDAP, saying that there is no evidence before it that he was personally served since the suit is not a class act against the Senate.

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