Court Dismisses PDP Suit To Sack Kaduna Lawmaker Over Defection

The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) seeking to remove Hussaini Jallo, a member of the House of Representatives representing Igabi Federal Constituency of Kaduna State, over alleged defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Justice James Omotosho, in a judgment delivered on Tuesday, held that the PDP failed to provide credible evidence establishing that Jallo had defected from the party that sponsored his election.

The judge ruled that the party’s reliance on newspaper reports and uncertified legislative documents was insufficient to prove its allegations, stressing that claims of political defection must be established through credible evidence rather than speculation.

According to Omotosho, the PDP failed to demonstrate that Jallo had ceased to be a member of the party or formally joined the APC.

“Having not proved that the 1st defendant (Jallo) defected from the plaintiff (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress, the reliefs of the plaintiff has nothing to support it,” the judge said.

He added, “It is baseless and has no weight. The exhibits relied upon by the plaintiff is wholly insufficient to support its claim against the defendants.”

The judge consequently dismissed the suit for lacking merit.

The PDP had approached the court seeking an order declaring Jallo’s seat vacant on the grounds that he allegedly abandoned the party under whose platform he was elected to join the APC.

In the suit, the party cited Section 68(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which provides for the loss of a legislator’s seat upon defection from the political party that sponsored the legislator’s election, subject to constitutional exceptions.

The party also sought orders compelling Jallo to vacate his seat immediately and restraining him from continuing to perform legislative functions as the representative of Igabi Federal Constituency.

Additionally, it asked the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election to fill the alleged vacancy.

The PDP instituted the suit against Jallo, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and INEC as the first, second and third defendants, respectively.

However, Jallo denied defecting from the PDP, insisting in his counter-affidavit that he remained a valid, bona fide and card-carrying member of the party.

He also told the court that he had neither resigned his membership nor submitted a letter of defection at his electoral ward.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives similarly denied that Jallo had defected, stating that he had neither announced nor read any document on the floor of the House confirming the lawmaker’s alleged move to the APC.

The Speaker further maintained that no evidence had been presented to him or the House showing that Jallo had joined the ruling party.

INEC, in its response, drew the court’s attention to the leadership crisis within the PDP, noting that the party had been embroiled in a dispute that resulted in the emergence of two competing leadership structures.

While delivering judgment, Justice Omotosho rejected the argument that the PDP lacked the legal standing to institute the suit.

He held that a political party that sponsored an elected legislator has the requisite legal right to approach the court to seek the removal of a member who allegedly defects to another party.

The judge also affirmed that Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution provides for the loss of a National Assembly seat where a legislator defects from the sponsoring party, except where the defection results from a division within the party.

However, he stressed that the constitutional provision could only be invoked after the alleged defection had been established with credible evidence.

Omotosho faulted the PDP for relying on a newspaper publication to support its claim that Jallo had joined the APC, describing such reports as documentary hearsay that could not independently establish the truth of the allegations.

“I have carefully studied the exhibits, one of which is a newspaper publication alleging the defection of the 1st defendant,” the judge said.

He maintained that newspaper reports could not be treated as conclusive proof of the events they purported to describe.

“This court will waste no time relying on unverified reports in newspaper publications,” he said, adding that the publication was unreliable and could not be used to resolve the dispute.

The judge also rejected documents the PDP presented as records of proceedings in the House of Representatives dated March 18, 2025, because they were not certified as required by law.

He explained that under the Evidence Act, 2011, the admissible secondary evidence of the public documents in question was a certified true copy.

Although the PDP claimed it had applied for certified copies of the proceedings, the judge said it failed to provide evidence showing that such an application had actually been made.

The court further noted that INEC stated it had not received any register of APC members showing that Jallo had joined the party.

According to Omotosho, the PDP also failed to produce an APC membership register, Jallo’s APC membership card or a resignation letter demonstrating that the lawmaker had formally left the PDP.

The judge held that the burden rested on the PDP to establish the alleged defection rather than expect the defendants to disprove it.

“The plaintiff has clearly placed no credible evidence on record to establish the 1st defendant’s actual defection,” he said.

He added that a party seeking declaratory reliefs must succeed on the strength of its own evidence and not on the perceived weakness of the opposing parties’ cases.

The court consequently dismissed the PDP’s suit, leaving its request to declare Jallo’s seat vacant and compel INEC to conduct a fresh election without effect.