JUSTICE Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday dismissed the suit filed by the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District in the Senate, Senator Dino Melaye, wherein he was seeking an order of the court stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from commencing his recall process from the Senate.
Delivering judgment on the suit yesterday, Justice Dimgba held that constituents of Kogi West Senatorial District were under no constitutional obligation to avail Melaye a copy of their recall petition as claimed by the lawmaker.
According to the Judge, “The duty of an aggrieved electorate is to submit a petition backed by appropriate signatures to the electoral body, while the duty of the 1st defendant (INEC) is well-defined, which is to verify the signatures, and if satisfied that they are genuine and the number meets the constitutional threshold, then it is to proceed to conduct a referendum for the recall of the legislator.
Melaye whose amended originating summon dated August 7, 2017 and filed same day, was brought pursuant to Sections 1(1)(3), 36, 68 and 69 of the 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended as well as Order 3 Rule 6 of the Federal High Court Rules, had challenged the petition for his recall on five grounds.
He told the court that INEC had violated the rule of natural justice and fair hearing by not giving him a copy of the petition and other accompanying documents.
But the trial Judge, while delivering his judgment in the suit held that the electoral umpire was not under any constitutional obligation to oblige Dino Melaye the documents.
On the issue of constitutionality of required number of signatories to the petition in line with Section 69 of the Constitution, which requires more than half of registered voters in the constituency, the court held that, “It is clear from a review of materials supplied by the conduct of the statistical analysis and computation of same that all provisional preparatory measures are subject to the verification exercise which the 1st defendant (INEC) had already published.
“I do not see how this could have caused an injury to the first plaintiff. The only option open to the plaintiff is to go through the verification exercise and ventilate any grievances that he might have there,” the judge held.
More so, the court held that Melaye’s claim that, “majority of the signatures/signatories to the petition are non-existent, dead and forged,” were untrue.
“He (Melaye) was not served with the petition and the list of signatures. Then on what basis did he conclude on the literacy status of the signatories if their identities he did not know,” the court queried and added that, “In the final analysis, I hold that, although the plaintiff may have some genuine claims arising from the authenticity or otherwise of the signatures backing the petition, but before this court, those things are not competent since the plaintiff has not first exhausted the internal remedy provided by the law, that is, concerning the verification exercise. For this singular reason. I dismiss this suit.”
The judge equally held that: “From all that I have said so far, it becomes apparent that these complaints brought before the court are hasty, premature and probably presumptuous.”
The court, however, ordered INEC to avail Melaye a copy of the petition and other accompanying documents to enable him prepare for the stakeholders’ meeting for the commencement of the verification exercise within two weeks from the date of the delivery of the judgment.
The court also disclosed that the 90 day period for the completion of the recall process was not sacrosanct, adding that the recall process for Senator Melaye paused on July 6, 2017, when Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court in Abuja made an order halting the recall process.
Justice Dimgba said the 90 day period had resumed on Monday, the day the verdict was delivered.