A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja today dismissed a suit filed by some All Progressives Congress legislators to stop the Peoples Democratic Party from declaring their seats vacant due to their defection from the ruling party.
The suit was however struck out by Justice Ahmed Mohammed who rule that the PDP lacked the powers to take such action under the law and therefore there was no issue for the court to determine.
The presiding judge noted that “it is clear that the crux of the plaintiffs’ action is the alleged threat by the PDP to declare their seats vacant over their defection to another political party.”
“The power to declare seats vacant lies on the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and not the PDP,” the judge explained.
Justice Mohammed also stated that while the case was pending before the court, PDP filed two separate suits, asking the court to compel the Senate President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, respectively, to declare the seats of all the lawmakers who decamped to the APC, including all the plaintiffs, vacant.
“Considering the two pending suits, is there any threat to declare the seats of the plaintiffs vacant without recourse to the court? No.
“This is because PDP has submitted the matter to the court and cannot take the law into its own hands.
“In the final analysis, since the plaintiffs’ suit is based on the alleged threat by the PDP to declare their seats vacant, and the fact that the PDP has submitted the same dispute to the court for determination, I am of the view that there is no life issue in the application brought by the plaintiffs, which I consider to be merely academic.
“And since the court cannot engage in academic exercises, the plaintiffs’ application is accordingly struck out,” the Judge said.
April 17 has been fixed for hearing of the other two pending suits.
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