Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ruled in favour of Mahadi Gusau, ordering his restoration as the deputy governor of Zamfara state.
This comes after his impeachment by the state’s House of Assembly on February 23, 2022, despite a pending court order.
In his judgment delivered on Wednesday, Justice Ekwo also nullified all the actions taken by the House of Assembly, former Governor Bello Matawalle, and the state’s Chief Judge during Gusau’s purported impeachment while the case was ongoing.
The Judge described the actions of the former Speaker of the House of Assembly, the former Governor, Chief Judge, and others as an aberration that cannot be allowed to stand. He declared their actions null and void, having no effect whatsoever.
Justice Ekwo agreed with the plaintiff’s counsel that the court must protect its dignity by reprimanding the 5th to 7th defendants (Speaker, former Governor, and Chief Judge) and undoing the steps taken during the impeachment proceedings while the case was pending.
Furthermore, the Judge stated that none of the cited judicial authorities relied upon by the defendant’s counsel authorized any litigant to take extrajudicial action when a case is pending in court.
“Once parties have submitted their dispute to the court for determination, the right to resort to self-help ends. It is not permissible for one party to take any step that renders the court helpless or creates the impression that the court is being used as a mere subterfuge to tie the result of litigation and the appropriate court order before acting further,” the court held.
Recall that on June 29, 2021, Bello Matawalle, three Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and the House of Assembly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Following their defection, the PDP and Mahadi Gusau, the then deputy governor, filed a suit seeking to declare their seats vacant since they abandoned the party through which they attained their positions.
The lawsuit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/650/2021, named the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), APC, President of the Senate, House of Representatives Speaker, and House of Assembly Speaker as the 1st to 5th defendants, respectively. The Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, Chief Judge, three Senators, House of Representatives members, and all members of the state’s House of Assembly were also joined as defendants.
The plaintiffs requested a mandatory injunction compelling INEC to accept the list of PDP candidates for holding and occupying the offices of governor, state, and federal lawmakers. They also sought an order directing INEC to issue certificates of return to the PDP candidates for the unexpired electoral term of May 29, 2019, to May 28, 2023, which the APC members allegedly occupied in defiance of a Supreme Court decision.
Furthermore, the plaintiffs sought an order for Gusau’s swearing-in as governor on the PDP’s platform to complete the tenure of office.
On July 19, 2021, the court restrained the House of Assembly from proceeding with the planned impeachment of Gusau as deputy governor. This order was granted following an ex parte application by the PDP’s lawyer, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), who argued that the House of Assembly, Matawalle, and others were planning to impeach Gusau due to his refusal to defect to the APC.
Despite the court order, Gusau was impeached by the House of Assembly after receiving the report of an investigative panel constituted by the Chief Judge of the state.
The plaintiffs subsequently filed a motion on notice seeking an order to restore Gusau to his position as at July 8, 2021, when the suit was initiated, regardless of the eventual merits of the case. They also requested the setting aside of all steps taken by the defendants during the impeachment proceedings.
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