The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Suleiman Gummi, member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Diaspora Digital Media (DDM) reports that the judgment, delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, declared the lawmaker’s defection unconstitutional and a direct violation of Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which prohibits elected officials from switching political parties without valid justification.
The ruling followed a suit filed by the PDP and its Zamfara State Chairman, Jamilu Jibomagayaki, who petitioned the court to declare Gummi’s seat vacant after he dumped the party under which he was elected.
Represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ibrahim Bawa, the plaintiffs argued that there was no internal division or crisis within the PDP at the time of Gummi’s defection that could justify such an action.
In his defense, Gummi claimed that internal crises within the PDP, both at national and state levels, forced him to defect to the APC to continue serving his constituency effectively.
However, Justice Egwuatu dismissed the claim, holding that the evidence presented did not prove any division capable of warranting defection under the constitutional provision.
The court subsequently ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election within 30 days to fill the vacant Gummi/Bukkuyum seat in the House of Representatives.
The Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, was also directed to immediately stop recognizing Gummi as a serving member of the chamber.
In a landmark directive, Justice Egwuatu ordered Gummi to refund all salaries, allowances, and other emoluments received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment.
The court further mandated that evidence of the refund be filed with the court registry within 30 days.
Beyond financial penalties, the judge used the opportunity to issue a stern warning to Nigerian politicians, condemning what he described as “the growing culture of political prostitution.” He emphasized that elected officials must not transfer the mandate of voters from one political party to another without relinquishing their seat.
“Politicians should respect the wishes of the electorate that elected them into office,” Justice Egwuatu declared. “When voters choose between political parties based on their manifestos, it is legally and morally wrong for an elected person to abandon the party under which he was elected and move to another without relinquishing that mandate.”
He continued, “If a person must decamp, don’t decamp with the mandate of the electorate. A politician has no such right to transfer votes garnered on the platform of one party to another.
The law must punish such moves by taking away the benefits bestowed upon the decampee politician. Political prostitution must not be rewarded.”
The court also awarded ₦500,000 in costs to the PDP and directed it to be paid by the defendant.
Political observers have hailed the ruling as a major step toward restoring accountability and discipline within Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.
Many analysts believe the decision could set a precedent that deters future defections, especially by lawmakers who abandon the parties that sponsored their electoral victories.
Legal experts, however, predict that Gummi may challenge the ruling at the Court of Appeal, given the financial implications and political consequences of losing his legislative seat.
This judgment adds to a growing list of recent court verdicts targeting the rising trend of defection among Nigerian politicians, a pattern many citizens believe has eroded the integrity of the nation’s democratic process.
The case, observers say, sends a strong signal that loyalty to party platforms, voter mandate, and the rule of law must remain at the heart of Nigeria’s political system.
