The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a case that challenged the defection of 27 lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The case was filed by the Labour Party, which asked the court to declare the lawmakers’ seats vacant after they reportedly left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In his ruling on Tuesday, Justice Emmanuel A. Obile said the case could not go forward because of recent legal developments.
Martins Nwachukwu, an aide to Speaker Martins Amaewhule—one of the main defendants in the case—confirmed the court’s decision through a post on social media.
Lawyers representing the lawmakers had asked the court to dismiss the case. They referred to a recent Supreme Court judgment and submitted an official copy of the ruling. That judgment supported the leadership of the Assembly under Amaewhule and pointed out that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had already dropped a similar allegation of defection in another case at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Still, Clifford Chukwu, who represented the Labour Party, argued that the issue of defection was still important. He said it was a “collateral matter” and urged the court to continue with the case, based on the evidence already available.
