The lawsuit seeking to remove 27 lawmakers over their alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was dismissed on several grounds.
In his ruling on Friday, Justice Lifu stated that the suit, brought by the Action People’s Party (APP), was statute-barred, having been filed outside the 14-day legal window.
The defection allegedly occurred in December, but the APP initiated the case on July 12, eight months after the event.
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Furthermore, Justice Lifu ruled that the case constituted an abuse of the court process, as several similar suits regarding the defection of the same lawmakers had already been resolved by the Federal High Court.
The judge referenced earlier rulings, including one by Justice James Omotosho in July, where the court restrained the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from declaring the lawmakers’ seats vacant or conducting fresh elections to replace them.
Justice Lifu emphasized that, since no appeal had been filed to overturn the previous judgments, they remain legally binding. He concluded that it would be a misuse of judicial resources for his court to act as an appellate body over decisions already rendered by the same court.
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