Posted by By MARIAM ALESHINLOYE-AGBOOLA, Jos on
The Court of Appeal sitting in Jos has declared the impeachment of Governor Joshua Dariye null and void and ordered that he should be reinstated immediately.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Jos has declared the impeachment of Governor Joshua Dariye null and void and ordered that he should be reinstated immediately.
In the lead judgment, which was read by Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa and endorsed by the other four justices, Kumai Bayang Akaahs, Mohammed Ladan Tsamiya, Abdu Aboki and Uzo Ndukwe-Anyanwu, the court held that all the processes leading to the impeachment were flawed as they did not comply with Section 188 (2) (4) (5) of the constitution.
The court, in rejecting the entire proceedings of the eight-member House of Assembly, said that the House was not properly constituted as at the time the action was taken to impeach the governor, neither was Dariye given a fair hearing in the entire process.
The appellate court further held that the position of Speaker pro-tempore was not known in law as the duly elected Speaker of the House, adding that if the framers of the constitution had anticipated a situation where a speaker pro-tempore would make a request for an investigative panel against the governor to be set up, it would have clearly said so in Section 8 of the constitution.
The court further held that the governor was not served the notice of impeachment and was not allowed to fully cross examine the witness before the interim report which served the basis upon which he was impeached, was submitted to the house.
The appeal court said that even when such report had been submitted to the house, it must be adopted by two-thirds of the members of the House through a resolution, adding that there was nowhere in the processes filed in the court where such a resolution was passed. This, it held, violated Section 9 of the constitution.
While blaming the members of the House for disobeying the constitution, the appeal court said that the Plateau State lawmakers were members of the House by virtue of the Nigerian constitution and are therefore, expected to abide by the provisions of the constitution. It said that the lawmakers cannot shut their eyes in total disregard of provision of the constitution in order to achieve an aim.
The court made an order nullifying the interim or any other reports of findings submitted by the seven-man panel of investigation against the governor, which led to his impeachment.
In upholding Dariye's appeal, the court held that the Plateau State House of Assembly could not be validly constituted by six members of the House for the purpose of commencing and concluding impeachment proceedings under Section 188 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It declared that there cannot be a constitutionally valid impeachment of Dariye as governor of Plateau State without strict compliance with the provisions of Section 188 (1) to (9) of the 1999 constitution;
The court further stressed that on a proper interpretation of Section 188 (4) of the 1999 constitution, the defendants are incapable of forming or constituting the required two-thirds of the members of the Plateau State House of Assembly, hence they were incapable of passing a valid resolution pursuant to Section 188 (4) of the 1999 constitution to the effect that the allegations of gross misconduct be investigated against the plaintiff.
In a reaction, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Edward Pwajok, expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment and said that the government would appeal immediately.
Dariye's aide, Mr. Yakubu Datti, who described the judgment as historic, on his part, said that restoring Chief Dariye's mandate was a victory for democracy and the rule of law.
Dariye was impeached on November 13, 2006, following the report of a seven-man investigative committee headed by Mr. Mark Samchi, which indicted him of acts of money laundering and financial impropriety.
The committee was set up by the state Chief judge, Justice Lazarus Dakyen, at the request of six out of the 24-member House of Assembly.
The House was presided over by Mr. Mike Dapianlong, who assumed the position of Speaker pro-tempore and had since assumed the position of Speaker.
Meanwhile, the Action Congress (AC) has hailed the Nigerian judiciary for upholding the rule of law and the constitution through its fearless, fair and firm judgments.
Reacting to Thursday's judgment of the Court of Appeal reinstating impeached Governor Dariye, AC said, in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, that the Plateau State and Federal Government must obey the court's ruling without delay.
It said that any attempt by the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Bayo Ojo, to again delay the implementation of the court's ruling by "interpreting" the judgment as he had done in similar circumstances in the past, would amount to thumping his nose at the judiciary and undermining the rule of law.
The party said the import of the ruling was that while any state House of Assembly may have legitimate grounds to remove a governor, such removal must be done in accordance with the constitution.
AC said: "The widespread abuse of the impeachment process in the country is one of the greatest threats to our fledgling democracy.
"Unfortunately, such flagrant disregard of due process has been aided and abetted, in almost all instances, by those who swore to uphold the country's constitution."
The party described the latest judgment as a blow to those who had engaged in lawlessness, political rascality as well as disrespect for the constitution and the rule of law.
"Once again, our hope in the survival of this democracy has been strengthened by the judiciary," AC concluded.