FRESH UPDATE ! BAD- NEWS For Wike, 27 Assembly Members- SEE What Justice Ahiakwo Announced After A’Court’s Judgment
In a recent development that has sparked considerable debate, Justice Osai Ahiakwo, a respected legal expert, has expressed his concerns regarding the appellate court’ s decision to reinstate the 25 sacked lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The ruling, handed down by the nation’ s appellate court, has restored these lawmakers to their positions, but Ahiakwo contends that it does not grant them the authority to resume their legislative duties or initiate impeachment proceedings against the Governor of Rivers State.
The controversy began when a High Court in Port Harcourt issued a ruling on May 30, 2024, restraining the 25 lawmakers who had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from presenting themselves as legitimate members of the assembly. In response, the affected lawmakers, led by Martin Amaewhule, appealed to the appellate court to overturn the High Court’ s decision.
In a statement released Thursday night, Justice Ahiakwo criticized the appellate court’ s ruling as unfortunate and called for the matter to be resolved by the Supreme Court. He emphasized that the Supreme Court’ s intervention is necessary to correct what he perceives as an error by the Court of Appeal.
” There is indeed no cause for alarm as considerable and conscientious efforts must be put in place by the respondents in approaching the Supreme Court, aimed at correcting the error of the Court of Appeal, ” Ahiakwo stated.
Ahiakwo underscored the importance of addressing this issue, noting that it would test the viability of Nigeria’ s constitutional law and set a crucial precedent for the nation. He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would streamline the issue and resolve the anomaly created by the appellate court’ s decision.
Furthermore, Ahiakwo pointed out that the appellate court had introduced new terminology into the legal system. He explained that the question of jurisdiction could be raised at any stage of a case, whether during its pendency or at the appellate level. ” The court is bound to determine whether the trial court had the constitutional right to preside over such a case, ” he added.
The legal expert criticized the Court of Appeal for relying on Section 272 of the 1999 Constitution, which grants jurisdiction to the State High Court, instead of correctly interpreting Section 251, which confers original jurisdiction on the Federal High Court as a specialist court. He argued that this misinterpretation led to the erroneous overturning of the High Court’ s ruling.
The National Democratic Coalition (NDC) also voiced its dissatisfaction with the appellate court’ s judgment, aligning with Ahiakwo’ s stance. The coalition expressed concerns over the implications of the ruling and its potential impact on the legislative process in Rivers State.
