The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit by the Labour Party (LP) seeking to unseat 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Delivering the ruling on Tuesday, April 15, Justice E.A. Obile said the court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the matter because it had already been addressed by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court’s judgment is binding on this court,” Justice Obile declared. “The issue of the lawmakers’ status has been settled, and this court lacks jurisdiction to reopen it.”
In the suit, marked FHC/PH/25/2024, the Labour Party argued that the lawmakers’ defection was unconstitutional under Section 272(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), and asked the court to declare their seats vacant.
However, the judge held that the matter was res judicata, as the Supreme Court had resolved it in a February 28, 2025 ruling.
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During the March 17 proceedings, lead counsel for the Rivers Assembly, K.C.O. Njemanze, SAN, alongside F. Orbih, SAN, and J.Y. Musa, SAN, urged the court to dismiss the case, describing it as functus officio—a matter that had already been decided.
But Clifford N. Chuku, Esq., counsel to the Labour Party, disagreed. He argued the Supreme Court ruling touched on the doctrine of necessity, not the legality of the lawmakers’ defection, and insisted the court should have given the case a full hearing.
Following the verdict, Chuku announced plans to appeal. “We are going to the Court of Appeal,” he told journalists. “The Supreme Court did not directly address the defection issue, and we believe the matter deserves a fair and substantive hearing.”
The 27 lawmakers had publicly declared their switch from the PDP to the APC in 2024 during a plenary session, waving APC flags to mark the defection.
They were later formally welcomed into the APC at a high-profile event at the Port Harcourt Polo Club, hosted by then caretaker committee chairman, Chief Tony Okocha.
Despite the legal defeat, the Labour Party maintains it will pursue the case further, insisting that constitutional order mus
t prevail.