Prominent Lawyer Speaks on Chances of Kano, Plateau Governors At Supreme Court

• Prominent lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, has spoken on the chances of Governor Abba Yusuf of Kano and Governor Caleb Muftwang of Plateau states at the Supreme Court
• Effiong said the two governors have good ground to appeal their sack by the Court of Appeal because the reasons were pre-election matter
• In an exclusive chat with Legit.ng, he explained that in prior decisions, the appellate court had held that party membership o is a domestic affair that the court has no jurisdiction over

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5-year-experience covering metro and government policy

Human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf and Governor Caleb Muftwang of Kano and Plateau states respectively good ground to appeal their sack at the Supreme Court.

Effiong said the reason for sacking the governors was pre-election and party affair matters which the court has no jurisdiction over.

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He stated this during an exclusive chat with Legit.ng on Saturday, November 25.

The prominent lawyer said the decision of the governors to appeal is good the appeal court judgement is good even though he can’t predict the outcome of their appeal at the apex court.

“I believe that is a matter that the Supreme Court should also look at given that in prior decisions and even the court of appeal has held that membership of the parties is a domestic affair of the parties and its pre-election and is a matter that the court has no jurisdiction over.

“I want to see how the Supreme Court will approach that. I believe they have an amiable ground of appeal. I have seen the judgement in Kano. so let the matter go to the Supreme Court. It is good that they are approaching the Supreme Court but I can't preempt the outcome, I can only tell you that they have amiable grounds of appeal.”

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Speaking on the wave of sack that has hit the lawyers elected under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau state, Effiong said the appellate court is the last resort for legislative election matters.

He explained that the judgement of the appeal court in sacking PDP lawmakers will not affect the way and manner the apex court will treat the case of Gov Muftwang

“The Supreme Court is not bound by the decision of the Court of Appeal. If the Supreme Court finds that the basis for the removal of the governor by the tribunal and the Court of Appeals is faulty, they will set aside the judgment. And it will not matter that for the National Assembly positions, the Court of Appeal is the court of last resort

“The relevant question before the Supreme Court will be, whether the ground for the judgment of the court of appeal is sustainable in law or not and not whether the appeal can be determined differently in the light of the sacking of the lawmakers.

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“It is really important for the Supreme Court to pronounce on this issue because some of these issues seem to be pre-election matters and not post-election. Whether these can be the basis for the removal of elected individuals in the light of the Electoral Act 2022 is for the Supreme Court to determine. So let them pursue the appeal and we will see the outcome.”

Appeal court insists on judgement sacking Governor Yusuf

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that the Court of Appeal insisted on its judgment sacking Governor Yusuf.

The Chief Registrar of the appellate court, Umar Bangari, restated that the certified true copy of the judgement confirmed the sacking of Gov Yusuf of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP).

Clarifying the controversy trailing the judgment, Banbari said the clerical error in a portion of the CTC judgement did not change the unanimous decision of the three-member panel of justices that sacked Yusuf.

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Appeal court sacks PDP's Caleb Muftwang as Plateau governor

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja sacked Muftwang as Plateau state governor.

In a unanimous decision on Sunday, November 19, a three-member panel nullified Muftwang's election.

The court said he was not validly sponsored by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as provided by Section 285(2) of the Nigerian constitution.

Source: Legit.ng