Court Sacks Zamfara Rep, Abubakar Gummi For Defecting From PDP To APC

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Rep. Abubakar Gummi from office for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abubakar Gummi, who represents the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State in the House of Representatives, lost his seat following a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu.

In the ruling, Justice Egwuatu barred the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, from continuing to recognize Gummi as the representative of his constituency.

The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 30 days to fill the vacant seat.

Although the judgment was delivered on Thursday, the certified true copy was obtained on Friday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The case, filed under suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1803/2024, was brought before the court by the PDP and its Zamfara State Chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki, as the first and second plaintiffs. They filed the suit through their lawyer, Ibrahim Bawa (SAN), on November 29, 2024.

The plaintiffs asked the court to determine whether Gummi’s defection to the APC violated Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, since there was no internal division within the PDP at the time he left.

They also requested a declaration that the Speaker’s refusal to declare Gummi’s seat vacant was unconstitutional.

In response, Gummi’s lawyer filed a preliminary objection and a counter affidavit, arguing that his client’s defection was caused by a crisis in the PDP.

He claimed the disputes at both national and constituency levels made it impossible for him to effectively represent his constituents.

However, Justice Egwuatu dismissed Gummi’s defense and ruled in favor of the PDP.

The judge criticized Nigerian politicians for treating defection as a normal act, stressing that it undermines the mandate of the electorate.

He stated that it was both legally and morally wrong for an elected official to abandon the political party that gave them their mandate and join another without resigning.

“Before I take my fingers off the keyboard, let me just add that politicians should respect the wishes of the electorates that elected them into office.

“A situation where the electorates have made their choices between different political parties and their candidates based on the manifestos and marketability of such a political party, it is legally and morally wrong for such a politician to abandon the party under which platform he or she was elected into office and move to a rival party without relinquishing the mandate of his or her former party.

“If a person must decamp, don’t decamp with the mandate of the electorates. Don’t transfer the votes garnered on the platform of one party to another party.

“A politician has no such right to transfer votes of a political party to another political party..

“The law must punish such moves by taking away the benefits bestowed upon the decampee politician by the electorate.

“And that is what Section 68 (1) (g) of the Constitution has done. Political prostitution must not be rewarded.

“In total, I resolve all the issues in favour of the plaintiffs and against the defendants,” Justice Egwuatu said.

The court ruled that by defecting to the APC before the end of his term, Gummi automatically lost his seat in the House of Representatives.

Justice Egwuatu further ordered that Gummi should stop receiving any salaries or allowances as a member of the House and must refund all payments he received from October 30, 2024, until the date of the judgment.

He instructed that proof of the refund be submitted to the court within 30 days and also ordered Gummi to pay N500,000 in damages to the plaintiffs.

KanyiDaily recalls that Agom Jarigbe, the senator representing Cross River North, recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).