Court Quashes Imo Deputy Governor, Madumere’s Impeachment

Imo State High Court sitting in Owerri has nullified the impeachment of embattled Imo State Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere by Lawmakers of the State House of Assembly.

According to the court, the impeachment did not follow due process therefore making it illegal.

The court also ruled that Madumere remains the Deputy Government.

Recall that Madumere’s trouble started when he went against the wish of his principal Governor Rochas Okorocha over who becomes the All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate for the 2019 governorship elections in the state.

Okorocha is backing his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu for the plum job of governor, even as Madumere, who has also indicated interest for the same position went ahead to pick the party’s nomination form.

The members of State House of Assembly went on to impeach Madumere despite a court order against the move.

Justice Ben Iheka of the Imo state High Court had stopped the panel set up by the Chief Judge of the state, Paschal Nnadi, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Acho Ihim, and the State House of Assembly from taking any further action in the impeachment process until the hearing and determination of the suit.

After the purported impeachment, Madumere dragged the State Chief Judge, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and Imo State House of Assembly to court.

Madumere had in the suit, HOW/531/2018, sought a declaration that the Speaker and the House of Assembly, having not personally served the purported notice of gross misconduct dated July 10, 2018, or a notice of any allegation made by the legislature on him, “cannot be said to have commenced or initiated the process of the removal of the plaintiff from office as Deputy Governor of Imo State, in accordance with the provisions of Section 188(1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended.”