…”We will appeal against judgment” – Dogara’s lawyer
A Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, has ordered a former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, to vacate his seat as member representing Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State.
Justice Donatus Okorowo, in his ruling Friday, declared that having defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dogara was no longer qualified to occupy the seat by virtue of Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Justice Okorowo aligned with the argument of the PDP that by defecting from the party that sponsored him to the ninth National Assembly before the expiration of his tenure, Dogara ought to vacate the seat as he was no longer qualified to partake in the activities of the lower House.
The judge, who held that the action of the lawmaker is prohibited by law, agreed that the aim of Section 68(1)(g) was to check political prostitution among the legislators.
“The judgment is therefore given in favour of the plaintiffs I hereby granted the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs,” he declared.
The PDP and one of its members in Bauchi State had, in a suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1060/20, sued Dogara, the speaker of the House of Representatives.
Other defendants are the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the APC as 1st to 4th defendants respectively.
Recall that Dogara defected to the APC after winning his re-election under the PDP in 2019.
Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives has expressed his intention to appeal against the judgment of the Court.
The Counsel to Hon. Dogara, J.J. Usman (SAN), stated that he has been instructed by his client to appeal against the judgment with immediate effect.
According to him, “The decision of the Court that there is evidence of defection to APC is not substantiated by any shred of evidence in the Court’s record. We are proceeding to the Court of Appeal immediately.
“The judgment has just been delivered and we have briefed our client right from the Court and he has expressed dissatisfaction against the judgment and has instructed that we file an appeal immediately which we shall do on Monday”.
