In a significant legal development, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has issued separate judgments affirming the nullification of the election of three members of the House of Representatives who had been elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau State.
The representatives affected by the court’s decision are Peter Gyendeng, who represented Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency; Musa Bagos, who represented Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency; and Beni Lar, a fifth-term lawmaker who represented Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling was based on the invalid nominations made by the PDP, finding that the party had acted in breach of a subsisting court order when it sponsored these candidates for the National Assembly election held on February 25.
The appellate court emphasized that the PDP failed to comply with an order issued in a suit marked PLD/J/304/2021, which had directed the party to conduct a fresh Congress involving all 17 Local Government Areas in Plateau State.
Rather than adhering to this court order, the PDP proceeded to nominate these candidates, who subsequently won elections in their respective constituencies. The Court of Appeal emphasized that the court order, which was a judgment in Rem made by a High Court in Plateau State, was both binding and sacrosanct and should have been fully obeyed.
The three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Elfrieda Williams-Dawodu, noted that the evidence presented by the PDP to demonstrate compliance with the court judgment revealed that 12 Local Government Areas were excluded from the purported fresh congress due to legal issues.
The court concluded that the PDP’s failure to obey the court order was detrimental to its case. Consequently, the appellate court upheld the decision of the Justice Mohammed Tukur-led Plateau State National Assembly Elections Petition Tribunal, which had earlier declared that since all the votes garnered by the PDP candidates were invalidated, candidates from other political parties with the second-highest number of votes should assume their positions.
The newly recognized representatives who will take over the legislative seats are Dalyop Chollom and Ajang Alfred Iliya of the Labour Party for Barkin-Ladi/Riyom Federal Constituency and Jos South/Jos East Federal Constituency, respectively. Additionally, Vincent Bulus Venman of the APC will assume the position for Langtang North/Langtang South Federal Constituency.
The Court of Appeal’s judgment, delivered by Justices Muhammed Mustapha and Okon Abang, marks a significant turn of events in the political landscape of Plateau State.