The Court of Appeal has nullified the expulsion of Martin Amaewhule and 24 other lawmakers from the Rivers State House of Assembly. In a unanimous decision, a three-member panel of the appellate court ruled that the Rivers State High Court lacked jurisdiction to grant the ex-parte order, citing Section 272(3) of the Constitution.
The court emphasized that the federal high court holds exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether the seat of a House of Assembly member has become vacant. The explicit mention of the federal high court in Section 272(3) of the Constitution automatically excludes state high courts from having jurisdiction in such matters.
In the lead judgment, Justice Jimi Bada stated that the Rivers State High Court’s decision to grant the ex-parte order without hearing from the appellants denied them their right to a fair hearing. “The trial court ought to have listened to both sides before coming to a decision prejudicial to the appellants,” Bada said.
The judgment was delivered on the appeal marked CA/PH/198/2024, filed by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others, with Victor Oko Jumbo, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as the respondent.
Justices Hamma Barka and Bilikisu Aliyu concurred with the lead judgment, setting aside the ex-parte order and nullifying the expulsion of the lawmakers.
