The Federal High Court in Abuja dismissed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party seeking to remove Benue State House of Assembly member Anthony Attah from office after he defected to the All Progressives Congress. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday.
The court ruled that the constitutional process required to declare the lawmaker’s seat vacant had not been completed. Justice Muhammed Umar held that only the Benue State House of Assembly and its Speaker have the authority to begin the process before the Independent National Electoral Commission can take further action.
The case was filed by the PDP against the Independent National Electoral Commission, the APC and Anthony Attah, who represents Okpokwu Constituency in the Benue State House of Assembly. The party asked the court to declare that Attah lost his seat after leaving the PDP for the APC.
The PDP also wanted the court to rule that votes cast for the party during the election could not be transferred to another political party after a lawmaker defects. It further asked the court to declare all legislative activities carried out by Attah after his defection invalid and to order him to refund all salaries, allowances and other benefits received since leaving the PDP.
In his judgment, Justice Umar noted that Attah did not deny dumping the PDP for the APC. However, he said that defection alone was not enough for the court to remove a lawmaker from office because the Constitution clearly outlines the steps that must first be followed.
The judge explained that under Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution, the Benue State House of Assembly must first declare the seat vacant. After that, the Speaker is expected to notify INEC, which would then conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant position. He ruled that until those constitutional steps are taken, INEC has no power to act.
Justice Umar added that the court could not take over responsibilities assigned by the Constitution to the Speaker and members of the House of Assembly. He said doing so would amount to exceeding the court’s constitutional powers.
The court also dismissed an earlier objection challenging the competence of the suit, ruling that the PDP had presented a matter that deserved judicial consideration. Despite that finding, the court concluded that the party failed to establish grounds for the reliefs it sought.
After reviewing all the arguments presented by the parties, Justice Umar dismissed the suit in its entirety, leaving Anthony Attah to remain in office unless the constitutional procedure for declaring his seat vacant is followed by the Benue State House of Assembly.