The House of Representatives Minority Caucus is calling for the sanctioning of justices from the Court of Appeal regarding the removal of Plateau lawmakers. Rep. Chinda Kingsley, the Minority Leader in the House of Reps, stated on Tuesday in Abuja, asserting that the justices involved in the case should face consequences as a deterrent for other judges who might consider similar actions in the future.
In November 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja ousted all 16 members of the PDP in the Plateau State House of Assembly due to pre-election issues, citing alleged disobedience of court orders and a lack of political structure. Before this, the same appeal court had removed four PDP members from the House of Representatives and two senators from the state.
Chinda also extended congratulations to opposition parties for the Supreme Court’s judgment that reinstated and affirmed the victories of opposition governors, a decision previously upheld by the appeal court. The mentioned governors include Dr. Alex Otti of Abia, Pastor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom, Sen. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State, Alhaji Abba Yusuf of Kano State, Mr. Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State, and Mr. Lawal Daudu of Zamfara State.
Kingsley said, “We applaud the Supreme Court Justices for ensuring that the sanctity of the votes of the people of these states was not compromised.
” These decisions have renewed the faith of the Nigerians in the judiciary as it has demonstrated that it is the last hope of the common man.”
He said the victories resonated not only with the opposition parties but also with the citizens of those states who voted massively for the PDP, Labour Party, and the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP).
He said it was imperative to refer to the decisions of the Court of Appeal in respect of State Houses of Assembly and National Assembly elections in Plateau that sacked several PDP legislators on questionable grounds.
He added that those same grounds were used by the Supreme Court to set aside the judgments.
He said although the decisions could not be appealed against because they occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice, he said the justices who handed them down should be reprimanded to serve as a deterrent to other judges who might want to toe this path in the future.
Chinda said the caucus commended the governors of the ruling party who were returned and prayed that they justify the confidence reposed on them by placing the country above themselves.