A Kogi State High Court in Lokoja has rubbished the process adopted in removing former deputy governor, describing as an equivalent of a constitutional coup within a democracy.
Justice John Olorunfemi declared the impeachment of Simon Achuba, by the State House of Assembly as null and void.
He awarded a N305 million compensation to the former Deputy chief executive of the State.
In another judgment, Justice Olorunfemi invalidated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary conducted on 3rd September 2019, which produced Engr. Musa Wada as candidate.
He declared that the opposition party had no candidate in last November 16, 2019 election, but the party has said it will challenge the judgment at the Appeal Court.
Justice Olorunfemi averred that an hour long downpour and sporadic gunshots which led to delegates scampering for safety cannot be said to be fair enough to produce a candidate.
Wada’s brother-in-law and eldest son the former governor of the state, Ibrahim Idris, Abubakar, had gone to court to challenge the Wada’s choice as the flag bearer of PDP in the governorship election.
“Neither the claimant, Alhaji Abubakar Idris nor the defendant, Engineer Musa Wada can lay claim to be the authentic flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party since the primary was inconclusive”, the judge said.
Delivering judgment on the impeached deputy governor on Thursday, Justice Olorunfemi said the Kogi State House of Assemblu acted outside its constitutional powers.
He said the subsequent nomination of Edward Onoja, the sitting deputy to Governor Yahaya Bello, did not follow due process
According to the judge, what the state lawmakers did was tantamount to a violation of Section 188 subsection 8, which bars the Assembly from further action since a panel that investigated him did not find him wanting.
The Judge said the onus to produce the remaining volumes of the report purported to have indicted the former deputy governor rest with the defendants which they failed to do.
He pointed out that the 29th defendants also did not file a counter-notice, describing the process of removing the former deputy governor as not following due process.
Achuba had earlier challenged his impeachment by the Kogi State Assembly and sought for relief of the court to declare his impeachment as illegal and to be reinstated as the rightful deputy governor of the state.
In their submission, counsel to the impeached deputy governor, Jibrin Okutachi (SAN), in a 13-page counter-affidavit, submitted that the court should discountenance the application by the Clerk, describing it as a breach of court order 11, rule 2, subsection 4, and section 115 subsection 4 of the evidence act.
Achuba was impeached in October 2019 by members of the Kogi State House of Assembly.
His impeachment followed the submission of a report of the committee set up by the State Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajana, to investigate an allegation of gross misconduct against the former deputy governor.
Additional reports by Channels TV