THE Federal High Court in Abuja has sacked Abubakar Suleiman Gummi from the House of Representatives for defecting from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Gummi represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State before his removal.
In a judgment delivered by a judge, Obiora Egwuatu, the court restrained the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, from further recognising Gummi as a member of the legislature. The judge also directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election to fill the vacant seat within 30 days.
The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1803/2024, was filed by the PDP and its Zamfara State chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki, through their counsel, Ibrahim Bawa, a senior advocate.
The plaintiffs argued that Gummi’s defection to the APC was unconstitutional since there was no division within the PDP at the time he left the party.
They urged the court to declare his seat vacant and compel the Speaker to act in line with Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates lawmakers to forfeit their seats if they defect from the party under whose platform they were elected, except in cases of internal crisis within the party.
In his defence, Gummi said his decision to join the APC was due to persistent internal and external crises within the PDP both at the national and constituency levels. He claimed that the party’s unresolved conflicts made it difficult for him to effectively represent his constituents.
After reviewing the case, Egwuatu rejected Gummi’s argument and granted all the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs. He declared that Gummi’s seat automatically became vacant upon his defection and ordered him to refund all salaries and allowances he received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment.
The court also awarded N500,000 in costs against him.
The judge criticised the growing trend of political defections, describing it as an abuse of the electoral mandate. He said elected officials must respect the choices of voters who cast their ballots based on party manifestos and ideology.
Egwuatu noted that votes belong to political parties, not individuals, and that transferring such votes to another party amounted to political misconduct.
He emphasised that the law was designed to prevent what he described as “political prostitution” and to protect the sanctity of the electoral process.
The judgment comes amid a wave of political defections in Nigeria’s National Assembly.
Just a day earlier, The ICIR reported that six lawmakers from Enugu and Plateau States announced their defection from the PDP and Labour Party (LP) to the APC during plenary.
Those who defected include Nnolim John Nnaji, Anayo Onwuegbu, Martins Oke, Obetta Mark Chidiebere, Dennis Nnamdi Agbo—all from Enugu State—and Daniel Asama from Plateau State.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Nnolim Nnaji said their decision followed the defection of Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah to the APC earlier in October.
Nnaji said the move was aimed at aligning with the state’s new political direction and ensuring that Enugu was no longer isolated from the Federal Government.
Mbah, who left the PDP after months of speculation, said his defection was a deliberate step to connect Enugu and the South-East region to national governance. The governor joined the APC alongside members of his cabinet, the state assembly, and local government officials.
The APC’s national leadership has since welcomed the new entrants, describing their move as a milestone for the party’s expansion in the South-East.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance