Defection: Court sacks Nigerian senator

The Federal High Court has declared the Ebonyi South Senatorial District seat being occupied by Sonni Ogbuoji vacant and ordered him to vacate the seat immediately.

The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice Akintola Aluko of the Abakaliki Division of the court.

It held that Mr Ogbuoji flouted section 68(1)g of the 1999 Constitution by defecting from the party, on which platform he was elected, to another party.

The said section 68(1)g bars elected lawmakers from defecting to another party except the party on whose platform they are elected is divided.

The court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate of return issued to the senator and to conduct a fresh election to fill the seat.

Furthermore, the court ordered the lawmaker to refund to the coffers of government all monies, be it salaries, allowances or any order form of payment, he may have received as benefits from the position from the date of his defection.

Justice Aluko in the 71-page judgement obtained by this newspaper held that Mr Ogbuoji, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2018, flouted the above section of the constitution.

– Premium Times