The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, on Wednesday, told the former governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the right to suspend or expel him if the action is done under the law.

Justice James Omotosho stated this in a judgment on a suit filed by Mr Wike before the 2023 general elections to seek a court order to stop PDP from taking action against him without a fair hearing.

Mr Omotosho said the court had considered the processes filed by parties and arguments of counsel.

He held that suspending or expelling the applicant without affording him the right to defend himself would breach his fundamental rights as enshrined in the party’s and Nigeria’s constitutions.

He said though the party had the right to suspend or expel its members, it must comply with its law.

The judge said that though section 46(1) of the law vested jurisdiction on the court if one’s rights had been breached, he said the court would not dabble into the internal affairs of any political party, except where the party had violated the right of a member without recourse to its laws.

“Where this right ought to be enforced, the court will do everything within its reach to ensure this.

“However, as fundamental and sacrosanct these rights are, they are not absolute,” he said.

The judge, therefore, agreed that any member of a political party who appeared before a disciplinary committee should be allowed to defend himself.

“And if not, any decision taken shall be null and void,” he said.

He said, “This court is convinced that the applicant is entitled to a fair hearing and that the respondent also has the right to discipline its members in accordance with the law.”

The judge further said Mr Wike had the right to associate and that the threat to dismiss him without inviting him to defend himself contravened Article 57 (1)(2) of the party.

He said the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, and his agents were bound to promote constitutional democracy.

The ex-governor had sued the PDP, its National Working Committee (NWC) and National Executive Committee (NEC) as first to third respondents.

Mr Wike, in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/139/2023, dated and filed February 2 by his lawyer, Joshua Musa, SAN, also joined Mr Ayu; national secretary of PDP, Samuel Anyanwu, and the Independent National Electoral Commission as fourth to sixth respondents respectively.

He had prayed for an order directing all parties to maintain the status quo and stay all actions relating to the threat to suspend or expel him by the first to fifth respondents, pending the hearing and determination of the originating motion.

He asked the court to enforce his fundamental right to freedom of association which was allegedly about to be breached by the respondents.

But the PDP, through its lawyer, Johnson Usman, SAN, disagreed with Mr Wike’s submission.

He argued that the case was only based on speculation as Mr Wike had failed to provide evidence to substantiate that the respondents intended to suspend or expel him from the party.

He said the party had not contemplated suspending or expelling members of the G5 governors or the Integrity Group, despite engaging in anti-party activities.

He said Mr Wike and four other governors engaged in anti-party activities by forming the Integrity Group and campaigning for another presidential candidate in the February 25 election.

(NAN)

The police on Tuesday in Ibadan paraded 78 suspects arrested for allegedly planning to wreak havoc in the city over the sack of the leaders of a roads transport group.

The state government had earlier on Monday evening announced the suspension of the Disciplinary Committee of the state’s Parks Management System, which the state government had set up to manage motor parks in the state.

The committee is led by a political enforcer, Mukaila Lamidi, also known as Auxiliary.

The suspension of the committee had caused anxiety in Ibadan where disputes among road transport unions usually led to mayhem.

A member of the disbanded group was reportedly killed during a shootout with the police on Tuesday.

The police made this known while parading 78 persons believed to be members of the dissolved PMS for unlawful possession of firearms, ammunition and other criminal instruments.

Trouble started in the state after the announcement of Auxiliary’s sack through a statement by the governor’s Chief of Staff, Segun Ogunwuyi.

On Tuesday, the police besieged Auxiliary’s hotel where they said they recovered arms and ammunition.

The suspended transport union leader was reported to have escaped with some of his boys during the encounter.

While speaking during the parade, the state commissioner of police, Adebowale Williams, told journalists that his men went to Auxiliary’s hostel acting on intelligence of his plans to unleash mayhem.

“Sequel to the above, on Tuesday 30/05/2023 in a strategic intelligence coordinated raid around his location at Diamond Hotel, Alakia-Isebo, under Egbeda LGA, (78) Seventy-Eight suspected hoodlums who had perfected plans to unleash mayhem at the early hours of today at major parts of the Metropolis were arrested in possession of sophisticated firearms, (724) Seven Hundred and Twenty-four Cartridges assorted charms, (33) Thirty-three Mobile Phones, and a cash sum of about (N3,450,000) Three Million Four Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira Only.”

The police boss said sophisticated firearms were recovered from the hotel rooms and in the trunk compartment of parked vehicles within the hotel.

“Exhibits recovered from the suspects are one AK-47 Riffle, four (4) AK-47 magazines, Eighty four (84) live AK-47 Ammunitions, Nineteen (19) pump action riffles, one Barreta Pistol, Seven Cut-to-size Gun, one English made Barrel Gun, Seven Hundred and twenty four (724) live cartridges, 25 cutlasses, Seven Jack knives, thirty three(33) mobile phones, one Samsung Laptop, Charms, One Mazda Bus, One Toyota Sienna, Cash sum of Three Million, Four Hundred and fifty thousand naira, (N3,450,000.00).

“Worthy of note is that, though the PMS Chieftain was able to escape with some of his boys during the gun duel with the Police, However a member of the group was neutralized in a gun duel with the Police.

“Recall that the same group was alleged to be responsible for the attack on (14) Fourteen members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) along Agodi axis under Ibadan North-East LGA enroute the venue of yesterday’s Inaugural celebrations.

“Furthermore, in line with Standard Operational Procedure, all recovered items were properly Documented, packaged and recorded for onward forensics analysis and for evidence purposes in accordance with the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and all other relevant laws.”

Premium Times

Operatives of the Department of State Security have stormed the Lagos office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), preventing officials of the anti-graft agency from gaining access to their office in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Impeccable sources in both agencies told The PUNCH that there has been an ongoing rivalry between the DSS and the EFCC over the ownership of the building.

The Punch gathered that the DSS operatives stormed the office around 7:00 am on Tuesday, and refused to leave despite dialogue between operatives of both agencies, an impeccable source confirmed the development in a telephone interview.

An official of the EFCC who spoke with The Punch on the condition of anonymity, said, “There’s been a running battle between us and the DSS over who owns the office because the office was used by them before the EFCC came on board and it was handed over to us.

“But it’s been an administrative issue, and the matter is not in court and hasn’t caused any fracas before now. But we don’t understand why they have to block our office and deny our officials access when a new government just came in.”

“The office used to be ours, and we have been fighting over it for years now, and the EFCC knows,” a DSS source said.

Meanwhile, spokespersons for both agencies, Wilson Uwujaren of the EFCC, and Dr Peter Afunanya of the DSS did not respond to inquiries by The Punch over the development.