Sani v. Galadima & Ors (2023)

LAWGLOBAL HUB Lead Judgment Report – SUPREME COURT

EMMANUEL AKOMAYE AGIM, J.S.C. (Delivering the Lead Judgment)

On 6-6-2022 the 2nd respondent and appellant herein filed an originating summons and commenced Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/834/2022 at the Federal High Court sitting at Abuja challenging the eligibility or qualification of the 1st respondent to contest or participate in the 4th respondent’s primary election of its candidate for the 25-2-2023 general election of member House of Representatives for Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.

It was later amended with leave of Court. The amended originating summons was filed on 6-8-2022.

The questions raised for determination in the originating summons are as follows –
“1. Whether in view of Section 87 Article 8(8) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party 2017 (as amended) the 1st Defendant who is a sitting/current member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State can validly join the 3rd defendant without having resigned/decamped from his membership of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
​2. Whether in view of Article 8(8) and 8 (17) and 50 (4) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the 1st Defendant who left/resigned from the 3rd defendant sometime in February, 2022 can validly contest for any elective position under/on the platform of the 3rd defendant without having served out his probation period.

3. Whether in view of the provision of Article 8(8) and Article 50 of the 3rd Defendant’s Constitution, the 1st Defendant validly rejoined the 3rd Defendant without having complied with the laid down procedures of decamping/cross carpeting back to the 3rd Defendant from the All Progressive Congress (APC).
4. Whether in view of the combined reading of Articles of the Constitution of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the 1st Defendant while being a sitting/current member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, can validly contest for the primary election for the nomination to the position of member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency, on the platform of the 3rd defendant without formally resigning or cross carpeting or decamping form All Progressive Congress (APC).

5. Whether in view of the reading of Articles 8(8) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Constitution, the 1st Defendant who is a card-carrying member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) and representing the Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has not engaged in anti-party activities by purchasing, filing and submitting Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the position of member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, under the platform of the 3rd defendant.
6. Whether in view of Article 50(4) of the constitution of the 3rd Defendant’s Primary Election for the position of member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant while not being as at May, 2022, less than thirty (30) days to the congress of the 3rd defendant.
7. Whether in view of the provisions part 1, Article 1 (b) and (c) of the 3rd Defendant’s Electoral Guidelines for the conduct of Primary Elections, the primary election for the nomination of the 3rd Defendant’s candidate representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the 3rd Defendant’s platform for the forthcoming 2023 general election was lawfully conducted.”

The reliefs claimed for therein are as follows –

1. “A DECLARATION THAT in view of a combined reading of the Section 221 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, Section 84 of the Electoral Act as well as Article of the Constitution of the 3rd Defendant, the 1st Defendant who is a sitting/current member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State cannot validly join the 3rd defendant without having resigned/decamped from his membership of the 2nd defendant.
2. A DECLARATION THAT in view of Article 50(4) of the Constitution of the 3rd Defendant, the 1st Defendant cannot be said to have lawfully contested at the primary elections of the 3rd Defendant, for member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, his re-rejoining the 3rd Defendant having been rejected by officials of the 3rd Defendant.
3. A DECLARATION THAT the 1st Defendant who left/resigned from the 3rd defendant sometime in February 2022 cannot validly contest for any elective position under/on the platform of the 3rd defendant without having served out his probation period.
4. A DECLARATION THAT the purported win of the 1st Defendant at the Primary Election of the 3rd Defendant for the nomination of the member of the House of Representatives representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State is null and void, the 1st Defendant not being a lawful member of the 3rd Defendant
5. A DECLARATION THAT in view of the combined reading of the relevant Articles of the parties’ Constitution, the 1st Defendant cannot validly purchase, fill and submit the Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms to contest for position of member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State, on the platform of the 3rd defendant without formally resigning or cross carpeting or decamping to the 3rd Defendant.
6. A DECLARATION THAT in view of Article of the Constitution of the 3rd defendant, the 1st defendant cannot validly contest for the position of member representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant while being a member of the All Progressive Congress (APC) as at May, 2022, less than (30) days to the Primary Election of the 3rd defendant.

7. AN ORDER restraining the 1st Defendant from parading himself as the purported winner of the 3rd Defendant’s primary election for the nomination of its candidate Representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant in the forthcoming 2023 general election
8. AN ORDER directing the 3rd Defendant to conduct a fresh Primary Election for the nomination of its candidate representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant in the forthcoming 2023 general election
9. AN ORDER restraining the 1st Defendant from participating in the 3rd Defendant’s primary election for the nomination of its candidate representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant in the forthcoming 2023 general election.

10. AN ORDER directing the 2nd Defendant to observe the conduct of a fresh primary election by the 3rd Defendant for the nomination of its candidate representing Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency of Zamfara State on the platform of the 3rd defendant in the forthcoming 2023 general election.
    And for further orders(s) as the Honourable Court may deem fit to make in the circumstances of this case.”

The 2nd respondents were aspirants in the 23-5-2022 respondent’s primary election of its candidate for the 25th -2-2023 general election of Member of House of Representative for Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency in Zamfara State. The executive of Shiyar Galadima Birnin Magaji Ward wrote a petition to the Zamfara State House of Representatives Screening Committee contending that the 1st respondent herein is not a registered member of the 4th respondent and should not be cleared to contest the said on-coming primary election of 23-5-2022. The said Screening Committee cleared him as eligible to contest the primary election inspite of the said petition.

​The primary election held on the 23-5-2022. The 1st respondent herein scored majority of the votes cast and was declared winner of the election by the 4th respondent. The appellant and the 2nd respondent herein through their legal practitioners appealed against the primary election to the 4th respondent’s National Assembly Electoral Appeal panel for Zamfara State on the grounds inter alia that the 1st respondent was not eligible to contest the primary election because he is not a registered member of the 4th respondent.

The 1st and 3rd respondents as 1st and 2nd defendants respectively filed notices of preliminary objections to the jurisdiction of the trial Court on the grounds inter alia that the suit is statute-barred and that the dispute is not justiciable as it concerns membership of the party, an internal affair of the party.

​The trial Court after hearing the parties, considering their respective affidavits and written addresses, on 21-11-2022 rendered its final judgment determining the preliminary objections and the merits of the suit together. It dismissed the preliminary objections.

Concerning the merits of the case, it decided thusly –
“The question to be answered in order to determine this case completely is;
Whether the 3rd Defendant can grant a waiver to the 1st defendant to contest its primary election of Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency while the 1st Defendant is still in the House of Representative in the platform of another political party, that is, APC?

In contesting the invalidity or otherwise the eligibility of the 1st Defendant to contest in the primary election of the 3rd Defendant for the Kaura Namoda/Birnin Magaji Federal Constituency, the plaintiffs and the 1st Defendant have referred to provisions of S.68(1) (g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Articles 9.1 (i) and 5 (i), (ii) and (iii) and 21 (i), (ii) and (ix) of the Constitution of All Progressive Congress (2014) (as amended), Chapter 8 (4) (7) and (8), and Article 58(1) (a), (f) and (j) of the Constitution of the Peoples Democratic Party.

It is stated in the provisions as follows:

S.68(1) (g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended):
68 (1) – A member of the Senate or of the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in the House of which he is a member if –
(a) …
(b) Being a person whose election to the House was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected: