Abuja Court Quashes 2022 Impeachment Of Zamfara Deputy Governor, Knocks State Assembly

A Federal High Court (FHC) sitting in Abuja on Wednesday nullified the impeachment of Mr Mahdi Gusau as the deputy governor of Zamfara state.

Recall that Gusau was removed from office by the state’s House of Assembly on February 23, 2022, on account of insubordination against the then Governor Bello Matawalle.

Before his impeachment, Gusau and the People’s Democratic Party had approached the Federal High Court in 2021 to block his impeachment over his refusal to defect to the All Progressives Congress like his principal, former governor Matawalle.

The court had granted an exparte motion restraining relevant stakeholders from impeaching Gusau pending the determination of his case.

In his prayers, he had also asked that the seats of the defectors be declared vacant and replaced with the PDP list.

But the state assembly went ahead to impeach him.

In his verdict on Wednesday, Justice Inyang Ekwo held that all the actions taken by the House of Assembly, Matawalle and the state’s chief judge against Gusau is null and void.

Ekwo ordered that Gusau be restored to his office because lawmakers cannot act in any ways when the subject matter was in court.

“Once parties have turned their dispute over to the court for determination, the right to resort to self-help ends.

“So, It is not permissible for one of the parties to take any step of complete helplessness, or which may give the impression that the court Is being used as a mere subterfuge, to tie the result of litigation and the appropriate order of court before acting further.

“I agree with the learned silk for the plaintiff/applicant that the court must protect its dignity by reprimanding the 5th, 6th and 7th defendants (speaker, governor and chief judge) and undoing the steps, acts or proceedings taken in the impeachment while this suit was pending,” he said.